"Be on the right side of history."

Those words are sometimes heard in the United States. They serve as a reminder that when history judges the people involved in a conflict, including analyzing what they said or did, or which side they supported, it will be impartial: Those who fought the good fight will be honored; those who did not will face an ignominious sentence.

As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues — it has lasted well over 100 days and shows no sign of ending — it is a legitimate question to ask which nations will be "on the right side of history".

One nation — South Africa — has made clear what it sees as being on the right side when history issues its judgment. Representatives from that country recently made the case to the International Court of Justice that Israel had violated the Geneva Convention and was committing genocide in Gaza as it carries out its military onslaught on the enclave.

Of course, Israel views its actions there differently.

The international court's interim ruling was not a full victory for the South African delegation, which had sought a declaration ordering an immediate cease-fire. Nevertheless, the court's judges did affirm that Israel had to do more to prevent potential genocide, had to stop the destruction of any evidence that might suggest genocide had taken place, and had to allow humanitarian efforts to be implemented without interruption.

Israel was also ordered to return to the ICJ in one month to verify that it was following through on these and other issued orders.

Although the ICJ has no mechanism to enforce its ruling or any future rulings, South Africa could ask the United Nations Security Council to support the ICJ's decisions and seek their enforcement. Should that happen, US President Joe Biden would face a conundrum: support the UN Security Council and end its support of the actions of one of its closest allies, or vote against any Security Council declarations and risk being defined as endorsing Israel's actions.

The US president should then ask himself which decision would "be on the right side of history".

That quandary would not be limited to Biden, of course. As CNN recently reported, the US and its allies are not unified in their response to the ICJ's order. The report said: "Reactions from the Global North to the ICJ case have been mixed. While some nations have maintained a cautious diplomatic stance, others, particularly Israel's staunchest allies in the West, have criticized South Africa's move." The US and the United Kingdom have been the most prominent in the latter camp.

Meanwhile, we should also recognize that there is another issue at stake here. The waning influence of the US and the West throughout the developing Global South helps to explain why South Africa was confident enough to demand that Israel be held accountable for what has happened so far in Gaza.

Without question, while the West seems confused about what to do next, many countries of the Global South support South Africa. One of the reasons is the legacy of struggle against apartheid in that country, while the other is the history of oppression by the West throughout the Global South. South Africa has validated ridding itself of apartheid and now wants no other nation to ever conduct activities that would equate to that awful form of racism and hatred.

Throughout the Global South, memories are long. Whether reflecting on US actions in Latin America, British actions in South Asia or French actions in Africa (to name just three broad examples), one conclusion continues to be reached: The dominant powers increased their wealth at the expense of the poorer nations.

According to a study published in New Political Economy in 2021, the Global North, roughly defined as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea and well-to-do Europe, beginning in 1960 and continuing through 2020, pilfered" $62 trillion in real terms. If this value had been retained by the South and contributed to Southern growth, tracking with the South's growth rates over this period, it would be worth $152 trillion today". The continuing extraction of valuable raw materials, combined with rampant poor wage scales in the Global South, guarantees that the conquest will continue.

Furthermore, the West's influence over the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund assures that it will retain control over the Global South.

As a result, any claims from these nations suggesting that Israel will "be on the right side of history" are mocked.

One is left to wonder how Western leaders think history will judge them.

The author is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania.

GAZA -- Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip have expressed hope of witnessing a real ceasefire between Hamas and Israel as their indirect negotiations have progressed after 118 days of bloody conflict in the territory.

According to media reports, a Hamas delegation is due to be currently visiting Egypt for truce talks. The delegation is expected to meet with Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, to discuss the framework agreement on a truce in Gaza issued by the recent Paris meeting, which outlined several stages to achieve a Gaza ceasefire, according to unnamed Palestinian sources.

The sources said that "so far, the negotiations have made significant progress, and we may witness a ceasefire in Gaza at the beginning of the next week if it is guaranteed that Israel will adhere to the Paris proposal."

Mamdouh Abu Kumail, a Gaza resident, is excited about such news, saying, "All of us (Palestinians and Israelis) need to end this war in Gaza."

The 62-year-old man hopes a new agreement will be reached to "allow us to return to our houses to check our losses and even to manage our new lives based on the new circumstances resulting from the devastating war."

Sami Abu Salem, a Jabalia-based Palestinian man, holds the same hope, saying, "Neither Hamas nor Israel has achieved their goals in this war. So, we need it to end as soon as possible."

The 50-year-old father of four added that "it is better to solve the conflict through diplomatic ways instead of military methods, which only affected the civilians."

Khadija al-Ojaili from Khan Younis told Xinhua that "the possible ceasefire will be the only way for her to meet her four children, who are now trapped in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza" while she has been displaced to Rafah city.

"I have not seen my children for more than three months since I moved to Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah to receive treatment for my injuries from an Israeli attack on our house," lamented the 39-year-old woman.

"I cannot stand to stay far away from them for a longer time. They need me," she said, in the hope of witnessing a ceasefire and returning home the soonest possible.

The about 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have been living in difficult conditions since Oct. 7, 2023, after Israel declared a large-scale offensive against the enclave in response to an unexpected Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 Israelis.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has reached 27,019, with 66,139 others wounded, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said Thursday in a statement.

On Sunday, a meeting was held in the French capital of Paris, attended by senior intelligence and government officials from the United States, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt, to discuss a deal to end the Hamas-Israel conflict in Gaza.

The Israeli delegation was led by David Barnea, chief of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security agency.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday that his government will not release Palestinian prisoners or withdraw forces from Gaza, despite the international efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal.

On Thursday, China called on the international community, especially major donors, to reconsider the decision to halt funding and continue to support the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Several countries including the United States suspended funding after Israel accused some agency staff of taking part in the October 7 attack by Hamas. The agency fired most of the suspected workers and launched an investigation.

"We must not deny all the work of the agency due to the moves by certain individuals, we must not allow more collective punishment against the Gaza people, and we must not sit idle and see the humanitarian situation in Gaza get worse," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news conference.

A joint statement issued by the World Health Organization, World Food Program, UNICEF, International Organization for Migration, and other agencies and partners appealed for these decisions to be reconsidered as pausing funds from UNRWA will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza. 

No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need, the joint statement said, as it was described as "the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza" by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

China supports the UN in carrying out an independent and objective investigation, Wang said, adding that the agency has made important efforts and plays an indispensable and irreplaceable role in easing the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

This round of the Palestine-Israel conflict has dragged into the fourth month, causing unprecedented humanitarian disaster, he said.

"There is no other option than ending hostilities that can de-escalate the crisis, and there is no task that is more pressing than protecting civilians," the spokesman said.

The normal and orderly operation of the UNRWA bears on the most basic need of Gaza people, the continuity of humanitarian work and the last string of hope for the desperate refugees to stay alive, he said.

UNITED NATIONS -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday urgently appealed for measures to reduce tensions in Gaza and its neighboring regions.

"I call for urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and spare the region from more violence before it is too late," the top UN official told the meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

"As we seek to address mounting needs in Gaza, we also remain focused on the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem," said the secretary-general. "I am extremely alarmed by the high levels of settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian attacks against Israelis also continue."

"All of this violence must stop, and the perpetrators held accountable," he said.

The secretary-general commended the vital role of the committee amid the protracted Question of Palestine and escalating violence, particularly highlighted by the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel and Israel's ensuing military operations in Gaza.

Describing the aftermath in Gaza as "a scar on our shared humanity and conscience," the secretary-general lamented the "death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss, and grief" over the past 120 days.

Highlighting the relentless bombardment and conflict, he said, "The ongoing conflict and relentless bombardment by Israeli forces across Gaza have resulted in killings of civilians and destruction at a pace and scale unlike anything we have witnessed in recent years."

He expressed horror at the military strikes that "have killed and maimed civilians," emphasizing that over "26,750 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Gaza alone - more than two-thirds women and children."

Guterres pointed out the severe impact on civilian infrastructure, with "over 70 percent... including homes, hospitals, schools, water, and sanitation facilities in Gaza - have been destroyed or severely damaged," leading to 1.7 million displacements.

Reaffirming the principles of international humanitarian law, he stressed that "no party to an armed conflict is above international law."

The secretary-general also addressed serious allegations against staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), saying that "I was personally horrified by these accusations." He outlined steps being taken to address them, highlighting the importance of UNRWA's "vital work."

With Gaza's humanitarian system on the brink of collapse and 2.2 million people facing "inhumane conditions," the secretary-general called for "rapid, safe, unhindered, expanded and sustained humanitarian access throughout Gaza."

He emphasized the need for more crossing points to ease congestion and ensure continuous humanitarian access, alongside a plea for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire."

Guterres concluded with a call for progress toward a two-state solution. "Only the two-state solution... can ensure the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as well as a just and lasting peace and stability in the region."

He urged the international community to remain steadfast in its commitment to advancing a meaningful peace process.

GENEVA -- The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that cutting funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) would have "catastrophic consequences" for people in war-torn Gaza.

"No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva.

"Decisions by various countries to pause funds for UNRWA, the largest supplier of humanitarian aid in this crisis, will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza," Tedros said.

Speaking of the situation in Gaza, he said that the WHO faces significant challenges in supporting health systems and workers there, with over 100,000 people having restricted access to healthcare due to fierce fighting.

Most hospitals in Gaza have already ceased functioning due to heavy bombardments and shortages of fuel and supplies. The Nasser Hospital in central Gaza is only minimally functional, the UN has said.

The risk of famine increases due to persistent hostilities and limited humanitarian access. The WHO urges reconsideration of funding cuts, emphasizing the urgent need for assistance, safe access to humanitarian aid, release of hostages, protection of healthcare facilities, and a ceasefire.

JERUSALEM - Israel's military declared on Tuesday that it has pumped seawater to flood the Hamas underground tunnel network in the Gaza Strip.

It was the first time that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officially acknowledged using the controversial strategy, which some United Nations hydrologists and environmental experts warned could destroy the majority of Gaza's drinkable water and harm agriculture.

"During the war, the IDF has implemented new capabilities to neutralize underground terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip by channeling large volumes of water into the tunnels," the IDF said in a statement.

The measure is part of "a range of tools deployed by the IDF" to neutralize the subterranean network of tunnels, it said.

"The capability was developed in a professional capacity, including analysis of the soil characteristics and the water systems in the area to ensure that damage is not done to the area's groundwater. The pumping of water was only carried out in tunnel routes and locations that were suitable, matching the method of operation to each case," it said.

According to Israeli figures, Hamas's tunnels stretch over about 560-725 km beneath the coastal Palestinian enclave. On Sunday, the US paper The Wall Street Journal quoted Israeli and US officials as reporting that some 80 percent of the Hamas tunnel system remains intact.

At least 26,751 Palestinians have been killed and 65,636 others injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its massive offensive on Oct 7, 2023, according to an update issued on Tuesday by the Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli military operation followed a Hamas-led cross-border surprise attack on southern Israeli communities, which killed about 1,200 people.

GAZA -- A Hamas delegation will visit Egypt on Wednesday to discuss the framework agreement on a truce in the Gaza Strip issued by the recent Paris meeting, a Palestinian source said on Tuesday.

The delegation will hold a meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo with Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, the source, speaking on conditions of anonymity, told Xinhua.

The meeting in Egypt will discuss the outcome of the Paris meeting, which outlined several stages for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Earlier in the day, Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, announced that Hamas received the proposal hashed out at the Paris meeting, which involves halting the violence in Gaza and releasing the hostages held by Hamas, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

"Our response to the proposal will be based on stopping Israeli aggression against Gaza and withdrawing their forces from the Gaza Strip," he said.

He added that Hamas is open to any discussions, provided that "they lead to a comprehensive cessation of aggression and providing shelter for our displaced people."

A meeting was held on Sunday in the French capital of Paris, attended by senior intelligence and government officials from the U.S., Israel, Qatar and Egypt, to discuss a deal to end the Hamas-Israel conflict in Gaza.

The Israeli delegation was led by David Barnea, chief of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, and Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security agency.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday that his government will not release Palestinian prisoners or withdraw forces from Gaza, despite the international efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal.

GAZA -- Israeli forces on Tuesday stormed the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, reported the state-run Palestine TV.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a statement that Israeli forces demolished the outer wall of the hospital, and asked displaced people and medical personnel to evacuate immediately.

In the past days, the vicinity of the hospital has witnessed intense Israeli shelling, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries and displacing hundreds of Palestinians from the area.

Al-Amal Hospital hosts thousands of Palestinians who sought refuge there as a result of Israeli shelling in various areas of Khan Younis.

However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the report.

"There's no storming of the Al-Amal hospital, entry into it or any ordering of people to leave at gunpoint," an IDF spokesman said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday called for the protection of civilians amidst the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

"The ongoing hostilities in densely populated urban areas, including areas surrounding hospitals, endanger the lives of the most vulnerable groups, such as medical teams, patients, the wounded, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly," the committee said in a statement sent to Xinhua.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 26,751 since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a cross-border surprise attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, said the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Tuesday.

GAZA -- The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 26,751, and 65,636 others wounded since Oct 7, 2023, Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry's spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qedra said that the Israeli army killed 114 and wounded 249 others during the past 24 hours.

Al-Qedra stressed that Israel is increasing its siege on the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip for the second week in a row, adding Israel "places 150 medical personnel, 450 wounded, and 3,000 displaced people under targeting."

Al-Qedra explained that the electricity generators in the complex would stop within two days due to a lack of fuel, which would increase the suffering of the medical staff and patients.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian security source told Xinhua that the Israeli army has increased the frequency of its raids during the past hours on Gaza city, the Nuseirat camp, the city of Khan Younis, Beit Lahia, and Rafah city.

A source in the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza City reported that rescue teams had recovered dozens of bodies as a result of the Israeli bombing that targeted civilian homes in the city.

In addition, the city of Khan Younis witnessed heavy raids targeting its western areas, reaching the vicinity of Nasser Hospital and Al Amal Hospital, according to eyewitnesses.

Peace in the Middle East hinges on Israel halting its military operations in Gaza, and the two-state solution is the only feasible way to solve the Palestine-Israel conflict, analysts say. However, these goals are elusive for the time being, even as Israel confronts increasing internal and external pressures, they said.

Israel's military action in Gaza started in October after Hamas stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages, 132 of whom still being held in Gaza.

More than 100 days later the Israeli offensive has left swathes of Gaza in ruins, has led to about 1.9 million Palestinians being displaced and has killed more than 26,250 people, according to figures from Gaza.

The conflict has also caused chain reactions in the region. For example, the US has launched airstrikes on Houthi group targets in Yemen, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel-affiliated and bound ships in and around the Red Sea.

In November the United Nations Security Council called for the formulation of a "concrete" timetable and a road map toward a two-state solution that would result in a Palestinian state being set up.

China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States have supported a two-state solution, but Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly opposed the idea.

Sven Biscop, director of Europe in the World Programme at the Egmont-Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels, said that the first step in keeping the Middle East region stable is for Israel to end its military operations, and the sooner the better.

"It could then lead to the next step: a big international conference to solve the Palestine-Israel conflict as a whole, but chances, alas, remain small."

Yu Guoqing, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of West Asia and African Studies in Beijing, said Israel has high goals for the military operation, including wiping out Hamas, which now appears to be an increasingly difficult task.

The conflict has also deepened the divide between Israel and the rest of the world as the country faces global criticism over the humanitarian crisis its offensive has created in Gaza. With more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas, the Israeli government is also under domestic pressure to obtain their release.

Prolonged conflict

"This prolonged conflict is a test for Israel and the Israeli government," Yu said. "Facing internal and external conflict, it must make some critical decisions."

Yuan Zheng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said Israel's ally the US is also in a quandary. Israel is its most important ally in the Middle East, and the Jewish community in the US wields significant influence over US policy in the region, so President Joe Biden's administration will undoubtedly continue to support Israel.

However, the Biden administration opposes Israel being too rigid on certain issues, including refusing to go along with the two-state solution and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Yu said. "So the US will also maintain pressure on it."

The Biden administration is concerned that the Palestine-Israel conflict may escalate and that its ramifications will be felt elsewhere, which may strengthen global opposition to Israel's stance. It is also possible that terrorists will take more actions against the US, posing significant risks to the country, Yu said.

"Israel cannot possibly disregard the attitude of the US entirely. However, Israel will not easily compromise either, and it will be a long process before it does."

Yu said the continuation of the conflict may lead to an increasing hostility toward the United States and Israel in the Middle East. This also indicates that the US is not capable of resolving all Middle Eastern issues on its own.

"There is now a clear voice in the world that advocates a new multilateral effort for peace, leaving the US isolated."

The US does not have particularly good solutions for conflict-related issues either. For instance, its strikes on the Houthis have not stopped their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, Yu said, and last week the Houthis said they had made a direct hit on a US warship. "The US is experiencing a kind of comprehensive frustration in the Middle East, or it can be said that its influence on many regional issues is declining."

Agencies contributed to this story.

JERUSALEM - Israel said Sunday that the discussions in Paris involving top US, Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials on a ceasefire in Gaza have adjourned, delivering "constructive" results.

"The meeting was defined as a constructive meeting," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement while noting that "significant gaps" remain and will be further discussed this week in additional meetings.

According to the office, the "intelligence summit" in Paris was attended by the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Qatari prime minister, and the Egyptian intelligence minister. The Israeli delegation is led by David Barnea, chief of the Mossad intelligence agency, and Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.

The meeting is aimed at achieving a deal to end the conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement. Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that his government will not agree to a ceasefire deal while Hamas remains in power in Gaza, and the Israeli military escalation in the Palestinian enclave aims to "eliminate" Hamas.

Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza on Oct 7, 2023, in response to an assault by Hamas on southern Israeli communities, in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 as hostages. Currently, over 100 hostages are still held in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups in the strip.

The deadly conflict has led to a Palestinian death toll of 26,422 in Gaza, with the number of injuries rising to 65,087, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Sunday.

JERUSALEM -- Israel said Sunday that the discussions in Paris involving top US, Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials on a ceasefire in Gaza have adjourned, delivering "constructive" results.

"The meeting was defined as a constructive meeting," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement while noting that "significant gaps" remain and will be further discussed this week in additional meetings.

According to the office, the "intelligence summit" in Paris was attended by the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, the Qatari prime minister, and the Egyptian intelligence minister. The Israeli delegation is led by David Barnea, chief of the Mossad intelligence agency, and Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency.

The meeting is aimed at achieving a deal to end the conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement. Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that his government will not agree to a ceasefire deal while Hamas remains in power in Gaza, and the Israeli military escalation in the Palestinian enclave aims to "eliminate" Hamas.

Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza on Oct 7, 2023, in response to an assault by Hamas on southern Israeli communities, in which Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 as hostages. Currently, over 100 hostages are still held in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups in the strip.

The deadly conflict has led to a Palestinian death toll of 26,422 in Gaza, with the number of injuries rising to 65,087, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Sunday.

GAZA -- The Hamas-run government in Gaza said in a statement on Sunday that the Israeli army killed at least 350 Palestinians in the past 48 hours in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Medical teams were unable to reach dozens of bodies scattered on the streets, the statement added, noting that local residents had to bury the dead in the courtyard of the city's Nasser Hospital as they could not take them to the Khan Younis cemetery.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Sunday that Nasser Hospital has been filled with medical waste due to a blockade by the Israeli army, noting that at least 7,000 wounded and sick people in the enclave are in urgent need of life-saving treatment.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society warned in a statement about the depletion of the oxygen supply at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis amid the ongoing siege by Israeli forces, which has made it difficult for medical teams at the hospital to perform surgical operations.

Since its onset on Oct 7, 2023, the months-long deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a Palestinian death toll of 26,422 in Gaza, with the number of injuries rising to 65,087, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Sunday.

JERUSALEM -- A delegation led by the chief of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad traveled on Sunday to Paris for talks on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, an Israeli government official told Xinhua.

The official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said that "significant gaps" have remained between Israel and Hamas. Contrary to reports in US media, he noted that "a deal is not near. Hamas didn't soften its position and more levers of pressure should be applied to Hamas."

According to the official, the US-led talks in Paris, aimed at reaching a deal to end the Gaza conflict, will be held with the participation of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, Qatari prime minister, and negotiators from Egyptian and Israeli security agencies.

The Israeli official said Mossad Head David Barnea, accompanied by the chief of the Shin Bet internal security agency Ronen Bar, led the delegation. The objective of the meeting is "to bring up ideas and discuss proposals that will break the ongoing deadlock in the talks," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that his government will not agree to a deal that involves a full cessation of the conflict while Hamas remains in power in Gaza, and the escalation aims to "eliminate" Hamas.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza on Oct 7, 2023, in response to Hamas's assault on communities in southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and around 240 people being kidnapped. Currently, more than 100 hostages are still held in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups.

The deadly conflict has had a devastating impact on Gaza, with the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks to 26,422 and 65,087 injured, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry on Sunday.

THE HAGUE/JERUSALEM — United Nations judges in The Hague said on Friday that at least some rights sought by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel's operation in Gaza are plausible, as South Africa's bid has found support across the developing world from Latin America to Southeast Asia.

The judges of the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, ordered Israel to take measures to prevent and punish direct incitement of genocide in its operation in Gaza.

"The state of Israel shall ... take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide convention," the court said.

In the sweeping ruling, a large majority of the 17-judge panel of the ICJ voted for urgent measures which covered most of what South Africa asked for with the notable exception of ordering a halt to Israeli military action in Gaza.

The court's rulings are final and without appeal, but it has no way of enforcing them.

On the ground in the seaside enclave, Gaza officials said on Thursday that Israeli strikes killed 20 Palestinians queuing for food aid in Gaza City, six people in a house in central Gaza's Al-Nusseirat refugee camp and at least 50 people in the prior 24 hours in Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis, where Israel is currently focusing the brunt of its might.

South Africa said Israel is in breach of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, set up in the ashes of World War II and the Holocaust.

"The ICJ must see the frustration of the international community," Hikmahanto Juwana, international law professor at the University of Indonesia, said.

"There should be a response."

Experts said South Africa's emergency case has laid bare a growing rift between Israel and its Western allies, and nations in the Global South.

Israel has called South Africa's allegations false and "grossly distorted", with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring that "the world is upside down".

Humanitarian crisis

In more than three months of conflict, Israel's campaign has leveled much of the enclave, displaced nearly 2 million Palestinians and killed at least 26,000 people, according to Gaza officials. Israel launched its offensive in October after militants from Hamas, which rules Gaza, stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.

As the conflict's civilian toll soared and diplomatic cease-fire efforts sputtered, backers of the Palestinian cause have looked to legal routes to halt the violence.

The loudest supporters of the case include Muslim-majority states Iran, Turkiye, Jordan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Maldives.

They also include a slate of Latin American nations including Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil and Venezuela.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been the most active Latin American leader, accusing Israel of "acts of terrorism".

Israel's strongest ally the United States has opposed the case, and some European Union members and the United Kingdom have refused to support it, with France saying accusing Israel of genocide "crosses a moral threshold".

"I'm not so sure that everyone in the West is in favor of Israel and everyone in the Global South is opposed to Israel," Marco Sassoli, international law professor at the University of Geneva, said.

On Thursday, thousands of homeless people sheltering in Khan Younis sought to flee to Rafah, 15 kilometers away, the UN relief agency for Palestinians said.

A video posted on X by Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, showed a crowd of people walking en masse on Thursday on a dirt road. "A sea of people forced to flee Khan Younis, ending up at the border with Egypt. A never-ending search for safety that #Gaza is no longer able to give", Lazzarini wrote.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said less than 20 percent of the narrow enclave — around 60 square kilometers — now harbored over 1.5 million homeless people in the south.

Agencies Via Xinhua

GAZA -- A complete power blackout hit the Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Friday, reported the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Photos circulating on social media showed complete darkness shrouding the hospital.

The Gaza-based Health Ministry said in a statement that the Israeli forces deliberately disabled the hospital through attacks and blockade and prevented its ambulances from operating.

THE HAGUE - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Friday ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent genocide acts in the Gaza Strip.

Judge Joan E. Donoghue, president of the court, ordered Israel to take all measures in its power to prevent genocide acts and to ensure that its military does not commit genocide. The court demanded Israel to report on the measures regarding the order within one month.

On Dec 29, 2023, South Africa filed an application to the ICJ for proceedings against Israel, concerning alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide related to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

GAZA - Israeli tanks are targeting Al-Amal hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, resulting in several injuries, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said in a statement on Friday.

"The hospital has been besieged with heavy gunfire. Our teams are unable to reach the injured people," added the statement.

Khan Younis has witnessed during the past days the intensification of Israeli attacks, the fiercest since the Hamas-Israel conflict started last October.

GAZA -- The Israeli fire on Thursday struck a crowd of Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid at Kuwait Square, a major intersection in Gaza city, killing at least 20, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said in a press statement that the Israeli strike also injured 150 others, who were among the thousands waiting for humanitarian aid at Kuwait Square.

The spokesman noted that the death toll is likely to rise, as dozens of seriously injured citizens, who were sent to the city's Al-Shifa Medical Complex, may fail to be treated due to the limited medical capabilities of the hospital.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense, told Xinhua that "the Israeli army deliberately approached people from the flour carts to receive them near Kuwait Square, and began firing bursts of gunfire at them."

"We transferred a large number of wounded and deaths, but there are still large numbers of others in the place as the army continued firing and shells at anyone approaching the area," said Basal.

An Israeli military source told Xinhua that the Israel Defense Forces is looking into the reports, without revealing more information.

Kuwait Square is located on Salah al-Din Road, southeast of Gaza city. Salah al-Din is the main road that runs north to south in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli army has set up a military checkpoint near the road to separate Gaza city from the south, with its artillery and bulldozers stationed there.

GAZA -- A UN training center in Gaza's major southern city of Khan Younis was attacked and set on fire on Wednesday, killing at least nine people, a UN official said.

Two tank rounds hit the building that shelters 800 people, killing at least nine people and wounding 75 others, Thomas White, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, wrote in a post on social media platform X.

He added that rescue teams from the UNRWA and the World Health Organization are trying to reach the center.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli bombing of the western areas of Khan Younis sparked a large fire at the training center.

They said citizens moved many of the dead and wounded from inside the center to outside as the fire engulfed large parts of the building.

Witnesses said ambulances and medical teams could not reach the burning center because of the siege imposed by Israeli forces.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the shelling of the center and slammed the attack as part of Israel's systematic targeting of the UNRWA's institutions, facilities, staff, schools, shelters, and equipment.

In the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 210 Palestinians and wounded 386 others in 24 attacks, bringing the total number of Palestinian deaths and injuries to 25,700 and 63,740, respectively, since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Wednesday.