Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 89?

The United States does not have any reason to believe that Israel assassinated Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, as he also clarified that his country had nothing to do with the killing.

“The US was not involved in any way and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous,” Miller said. “We have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion,” he stressed.

The US has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday, after South Africa launched genocide proceedings at the International Court of Justice over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian enclave.

"Those are allegations that should not be made lightly ... we are not seeing any acts that constitute genocide," Miller said at a regular news briefing. "That is a determination by the State Department," he added.

He had been asked about South Africa's request on Tuesday that the World Court issue an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

South Africa launched proceedings against Israel

The court has scheduled public hearings for Jan. 11 and 12 on South Africa's request. Israel said it would defend itself from the charges. 

Miller said he did not have any assessment to share on whether war crimes or crimes against humanity have been committed.

Israeli forces operate in the Gaza Strip on January 2, 2023 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Washington on Tuesday slammed two Israeli ministers for advocating resettlement of Palestinians outside of Gaza, but said Israel had assured US officials that their statements do not reflect its policy.

US officials have said too many Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. They have urged Israel - which Washington provides with weapons - to do more to protect civilians.

The war was triggered by a cross-border Hamas assault on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 hostages taken back to Gaza.

The total recorded Palestinian death toll from Israel's offensive had reached 22,313 by Wednesday, the Hamas health ministry said.

Israel has called the genocide case "baseless" and says Hamas is using Palestinians as human shields and stealing aid from them, accusations Hamas denies.

Top defense officials want to initially hand local management of Gaza over to clans who are traditionally connected to specific cities and sectors, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The idea would be to replace Hamas with family groups who have not been as connected to the terror group and to give control over food, water, and other key supplies to groups in Gaza who are not Hamas.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said it backed South Africa’s genocide claim against Israel over its military operation in Gaza. The opening hearing is expected to be held next Thursday and Friday before the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

“It is expected that within the framework of this application, the ICJ will decide on provisional measures involving those to stop Israel’s attacks on Gaza,” the Foreign Ministry said as it called on Israel to be held accountable for civilian deaths in Gaza.

It is not clear that Shiite Iran and Hezbollah will risk a big fight with Israel over the death of a Sunni official, Hamas Deputy Chief Saleh al-Arouri, a former top defense chief, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

The comment was made in the context of whether, if Israel was indeed responsible for Arouri’s death, it was a risky move to have taken while he was on Lebanese soil, which could start a general war with Hezbollah.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, according to reports in Israeli media.

The president assured Netanyahu that the US will maintain a significant military presence in the region amid reports that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is set to depart the Mediterranean Sea, close to three months since it was deployed to the area in the wake of Hamas's October 7 massacre on Israel and fears of a multi-front war.

The United States was not involved in any way in the explosions in Iran on Wednesday and has no reason to believe Israel was, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular news briefing.

Two explosions killed more than 100 people and wounded scores at a ceremony in Iran earlier on Wednesday to commemorate top commander Qassem Soleimani who was killed by a US drone in 2020, Iranian officials said, blaming unspecified "terrorists."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi stated that the IDF is in a “very strong state of readiness in the North,” during a visit to the Israel-Lebanon border.

"We are in very strong state of readiness in the north in my impression," the military chief said. "There is a great deal of proficiency, there is good ability and there is a high spirit."

"We are very well prepared on all fronts and we are currently focusing on fighting Hamas," he stressed, "This war began at a difficult point."

Halevi's comments come the day after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in alleged Israeli drone strike in Beirut.

The United States and eleven other countries issues a joint statement on Wednesday reiterating a call for an end to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, according to the White House.

"Let our message now be clear: we call for the immediate end of these illegal attacks and release of unlawfully detained vessels and crews," said the statement, issued by the U.S. with Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and New Zealand.

"The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways."

We started working together as part of a journalistic project in the previous decade. We thought it would help encourage dialogue. We wanted to show the everyday reality in Gaza from the perspective of a secular Palestinian student who opposes Hamas. But Fares stopped responding to messages. This column is about him, and all of us.

Fares liked to say that with all due respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the real reason World War III would erupt is the ideological dispute between iPhone and Android users. Every time another round of fighting started between the IDF and Hamas, I would send Fares a message to ask about his well-being and his family's. It became a habit. Like some friends I only call on holidays and birthdays, or some people I know will only call me when they need something. I only called Fares when images of Gaza in flames started running on the TV screen, knowing he was there, somewhere, with his damn iPhone.