South Africa has presented all the necessary documentation to the ICC | South Africa has submitted all necessary paperwork to the International Criminal Court (ICC), bringing war crime charges against Israel over its offensive in Gaza, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday, according to local outlet Eyewitness News. ● More than 19,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli air and ground assaults in Gaza since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "eliminate" Hamas in response to the Palestinian militant group's October 7 cross-border attack, in which it killed about 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. ● Last month, President Ramaphosa condemned the Hamas incursion during an emergency virtual BRICS+ meeting, accusing the militant group of violating international law. He insisted, however, that Israel is committing genocide and blamed the raging conflict on the Jewish state's occupation of Palestinian territory.

The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that women and children comprise 70 percent of nearly 18,800 people martyred in Gaza Strip during “Israel’s” barbaric aggression against the besieged territory. | In a statement on Sunday, the Ramallah-based ministry said the death toll covers a period of 70 days between October 7 and December 15. More than 300 health sector workers, 86 journalists, 135 employees of the UN agency for the Palestinian refugees [UNRWA] and approximately 35 civil defense workers are among the death toll, it added. The ministry also said that over 51,100 Palestinians have been wounded in the “Israeli” aggression on Gaza, with scores of other people unaccounted for. It further noted that only eight out of 36 Gaza hospitals are partially functional, and that occupancy rates have soared to 206 percent in inpatient departments and 250 percent in intensive care units. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said that “Israel” is seeking to “eliminate” the Palestinian territory’s health care system through its ongoing attacks on hospitals. 💬 “What the occupation is doing is part of the scenario that began in northern Gaza from the Shifa complex,” he said. “Targeting Nasser medical complex is part of the occupation’s policy to eliminate the health sector and would bring down the health system in the southern Gaza Strip.” Meanwhile, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini raised the alarm at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.

■ 'Israel' using starvation of civilians as warfare method in Gaza: HRW (Al Mayadeen)
■ West Bank: “Israel” Kills Four Palestinians Including Two Teenagers (Alahed News)
■ The Expression of Hatred for Gentiles (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)
■ Bloodshed In Gaza and Beyond–Israel’s National Orgasm (Mark Glenn) (01/02/14)

■ ‘New Gitmo': Rights group urges probe into Israel’s starving, murdering Gaza abductees (PressTV) | It was revealed that hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including children and elderly, are held hostage in 'Sde Teman' IOF military camp in inhumane conditions. According to testimonies, several have been tortured to death, and open-air chicken coops are being used. The Sde Teman Israeli army camp has been turned into “a new Guantanamo-like prison,” where detainees lose their lives after being subjected to extreme torture and mistreatment, it added. The Israeli army uses open-air chicken coops to house the inmates and withhold food or drink for long periods of time. The rights group also noted that the Palestinians held in Sde Teman are caged in inhumane conditions, blindfolded and subjected to harsh interrogations with their hands tied. [Click on image above]

A US-led coalition has come together to respond to Houthi rebel attacks that have disrupted Red Sea shipping | The Pentagon has turned to the UK, France and other allies to help secure shipping traffic through the Red Sea after a series of missile and drone attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels scared away major transport operators and oil major BP from the key maritime route. ● US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the coalition’s initiative on Monday, saying Operation Prosperity Guardian would work to ensure freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. “This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” he said in a statement, adding that the group would bolster “regional security and prosperity.”

■ Operation Prosperity Guardian: US scrambles to secure Red Sea route (Al Mayadeen)
■ Austin Reveals Multinational Operation to Secure Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks (Sputnik News)