The Biden administration last year gathered intelligence that Israeli military lawyers were concerned about the legality of the tactics being used by Israel’s army in the war in Gaza, which could support charges of war crimes against Israel, according to five former U.S. officials. The intelligence prompted an interagency meeting at the National Security Council in late 2024 where officials and lawyers debated how to respond. Three former officials said that U.S.-lawyers concluded that it was still legal for the U.S. to continue supporting Israel with weapons and intelligence because the U.S. had not gathered its own evidence that Israel was violating the law of armed conflict. Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay, and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
Over 69,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, Gaza health officials said on Saturday. The death toll includes bodies recovered from the rubble in Gaza and Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since the ceasefire began on October 10. Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians on Saturday who approached troops, the Israeli army said in a statement. Israel on Saturday returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians to Gaza, a day after Hamas returned the remains of the deceased hostage, Lior Rudaeff. Wafaa Shurafa, Sally Abou Aljoud, and Julia Frankel report for AP News.
The U.S.-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre in southern Israel replaced Israel as the overseer of humanitarian aid to Gaza on Friday, but the Israelis are still “part of the conversation,” a U.S. official said. The United States has not yet said which of the Israeli restrictions on aid might be lifted or how the CMCC plans to manage aid operations. A statement from COGAT, the unit within the IDF responsible for facilitating aid to Gaza, said that while “the Americans will take the lead…It should be emphasized that this does not constitute a transfer of authority or responsibility from COGAT.” Karen DeYoung, Claire Parker, Alex Horton, and Cate Brown report for the Washington Post.
The World Bank supports the U.S.-drafted U.N Security Council resolution on Gaza that would authorize a two-year mandate for a ‘Board of Peace’ transitional governance administration, according to a letter, dated Saturday, seen by Reuters. Michelle Nichols reports.
Hamas fighters in Rafah, within the Israeli-controlled area of Gaza, will not surrender to Israel, Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades said yesterday, adding that “the enemy must know that the concept of surrender and handing oneself over does not exist in the dictionary of the Al-Qassam Brigades.” Hamas did not comment directly on continuing U.S.-led talks over the fighters in Rafah. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.
The Biden administration last year gathered intelligence that Israeli military lawyers were concerned about the legality of the tactics being used by Israel’s army in the war in Gaza, which could support charges of war crimes against Israel, according to five former U.S. officials. The intelligence prompted an interagency meeting at the National Security Council in late 2024 where officials and lawyers debated how to respond. Three former officials said that U.S.-lawyers concluded that it was still legal for the U.S. to continue supporting Israel with weapons and intelligence because the U.S. had not gathered its own evidence that Israel was violating the law of armed conflict. Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay, and Humeyra Pamuk report for Reuters.
WEST BANK VIOLENCE
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in October. OCHA added that this amounts to an average of eight incidents per day and marks the biggest monthly total since the U.N. began tracking such incidents in 2006. Michelle Nichols reports for Reuters.