By Mersiha Gadzo and Brian Osgood

     Gaza’s Health Ministry says 174 Palestinians were killed and 310 wounded in the enclave in 24 hours.

      Thousands fleeing fighting in Khan Younis arrive in overcrowded Rafah, where winter storms have flooded displacement camps.

      In its highly anticipated interim decision, the court also said it has jurisdiction to rule in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel but did not call for an immediate ceasefire.

      Attacks on healthcare facilities continue in southern Gaza, with Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis completely losing power; in Rafah, three people were killed in an attack on a residential home.

      At least 26,257 people have been killed and 64,797 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139.

   Netanyahu doubles down on criticism of Qatar

    The Israeli prime minister tells reporters that Qatar hosts and funds Hamas, and that it should use this position to put pressure on the Palestinian group to bring about the release of the Israeli captives still held in Gaza.

    Several senior Hamas members reside in Qatar, and Qatar has played a key mediator role throughout the duration of Israel’s war on Gaza, brokering a deal earlier this month that saw medical supplies enter the Strip, and a deal late last year that saw the return of a number of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

    When asked about leaked closed-door remarks in which he criticised Qatar’s mediator role, deeming it “problematic”, Netanyahu told reporters: “I take back nothing”.

   Smotrich says Gaza will be placed under military administration

    Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that Gaza will be ruled by a military administration that will also oversee civil matters, undercutting US statements that Gaza must not be occupied by Israeli authorities following the end of the war.

    “There will be a military administration of Gaza and it will also be responsible for civilian matters,” Smotrich said in a television interview with an Israeli broadcaster.

    The far-right minister also said that protests in Israel demanding the government prioritise the return of the remaining captives, even if it means a deal with Hamas, are hurting the war effort.

    “I’m telling the truth, it’s not popular either, there is a way to try to bring them back, but anyone who claims that they can all be returned tomorrow is not telling the truth,” he said.

   One day after ICJ ruling, little change on the ground in Gaza

    Just more than one day after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take additional steps to protect civilians in Gaza, little has changed for Palestinians trapped in the besieged enclave.

    “The most triggering concern among Palestinians right now is whether the fighting will extend to reach Rafah in the coming days, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the fighting on the ground will continue until ultimate victory over Hamas in Gaza. Palestinians are afraid that they will find no place to remain,” Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah.

    Ugandan government distances itself from judge who cast sole dissenting vote in ICJ case

    The government of Uganda has released a statement underscoring its support for South Africa’s case before the ICJ and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

    The statement also stated that the actions of Ugandan Judge Julia Sebutinde, who was the only member of the court to vote against every provisional measure to protect Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, “does not in any way, reflect the position of the position of the Government of the Republic of Uganda”.

   The US must act to end the Gaza disaster: US Senator

    Bernie Sanders has penned an op-ed piece in the UK newspaper The Guardian, calling out US complicity in the thousands of civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip as Israel’s war continues.

    “Let’s be clear: what’s happening in Gaza is not just some unfortunate tragedy taking place thousands of miles from our shores. The United States provides Israel with $3.8bn in military aid every year, and the bombs and military equipment that are destroying Gaza are made in America. In other words, we are complicit in what is happening”, he wrote.

    The op-ed calls on the Biden administration and his fellow lawmakers to end US military support for Israel while it continues to carry out its war.

    “The United States must stop asking Israel to do the right thing. It’s time to start telling Israel it must do these things or it will lose our support,” the piece concludes.