al Jazeera:

Israel commits Gaza genocide under world’s ‘watchful eye’, ICJ told

By Virginia Pietromarchi and Caolan Magee

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun its second day of hearings into Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians, more than 50 days into Israel’s total blockage on aid entering the Gaza Strip.
South Africa’s representative Zane Dangor has told the ICJ that “under the world’s watchful eye, Palestinians are being subjected to atrocity, crimes, persecution, apartheid and genocide” in Gaza.
Amnesty International, a global rights group, has accused Israel of committing a “livestreamed genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly displacing most of the population and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,365 Palestinians and wounded 117,905 others, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. The Gaza Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.

2m ago
(13:45 GMT)
Released Gaza detainees report ‘horrific ways of torture’ in Israeli detention
Tareq Abu Azzoum
Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Gaza
The Israeli military released 10 Palestinian detainees at the Kissufim military checkpoint, which is located at the eastern end of Deir el-Balah.
They were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, then taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital to undergo medical checks.
Medical teams have given them the green light to leave, but they were in a very desperate physical condition. Psychologically, they were very traumatised.
They have reported horrific ways of torture that they endured in the Israeli detention camps and centres, saying the condition of Palestinian detainees and prisoners is horrific and inhumane, calling for immediate protection for them and urging people to keep praying for them.
Among them was one Palestinian who is the sole survivor of the Israeli attack on the group of paramedics in Rafah city in the far south of the Strip, where 14 emergency responders [and one UN worker] were killed [last month].
03:02
Israeli army only finds ‘professional failures’ in Gaza aid worker killings
17m ago
(13:30 GMT)
Sara Netanyahu’s comment on Gaza captives prompts outrage among families
A comment made by Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israel’s prime minister, appearing to suggest that fewer than 24 captives are still alive in Gaza has stirred tensions in Israel.
According to Israeli media, a video published by the Israeli prime minister’s office shows Sara Netanyahu audibly whispering to her husband “less”, after he said there were “up to 24 alive” captives.
“You sowed indescribable panic in the hearts of the families of the kidnapped, who are already in a state of agonising uncertainty,” read a statement from Bring Them Home, a group representing captives’ families. “What did you mean when you said ‘less’? Do you know something we don’t?” it asked.
“If there is intelligence or new information regarding the condition of our loved ones, we demand that it be fully acknowledged,” the statement added.
A demonstrator holds a die-in during an antigovernment protest calling for action to secure the release of the remaining Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip since October 2023 [Jack Guez/AFP]
32m ago
(13:15 GMT)
Israel frees ambulance driver detained after killing 15 rescue workers on March 23
Asaad al-Nsasrah, an ambulance driver who was arrested in Gaza’s southern Rafah city when Israeli soldiers killed 15 rescue workers on March 23, has been released, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
His whereabouts had been unknown for weeks.
Here is the full story of what happened that night.
Al-Nsasrah was released through the Kissufim checkpoint with ten other detainees. They were brought to a hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, for medical checkups.
47m ago
(13:00 GMT)
Israeli army says it arrested 24 Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The arrests were made overnight on Tuesday as part of a military operation conducted by Israeli troops across the occupied West Bank, the army says in a statement.
The army also claimed to have found weapons and “tens of thousands of shekels in terrorist funds”.
As we have reported earlier, a doctor and a journalist were among at least 22 Palestinians arrested since yesterday evening in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA).
Raids have become a near-daily occurrence in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war in Gaza. These have often led to fire exchanges with armed groups and to mass arrests.
In the occupied Palestinian territory, one in every five Palestinians has been jailed and charged at some point. This rate is twice as high for Palestinian men as it is for women – two in every five men have been arrested and charged.