Key Points
- It's been 100 days since the Hamas-Israel war began.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says no court or military foe could stop Israel from achieving its aim of destroying Hamas.
- Houthi rebels said they would respond to the latest strike in Yemen by the United States.
The United Nations said the Gaza war "staining humanity" on the eve of its 100th day as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down .
The devastating conflict has unleashed a and fears of a regional escalation intensified after US and British forces struck pro-Hamas Houthi rebels in Yemen following attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The war started after from the Gaza Strip that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians.
An Israeli siege has sparked , where the health system is collapsing.
Visiting the Gaza Strip, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said "the massive death, destruction, displacement, hunger, loss and grief of the last 100 days are staining our shared humanity".
An entire generation of children in Gaza were being "traumatised", diseases were spreading and the clock is "ticking fast towards famine", he warned.
Benjamin Netanyahu: 'No one will stop us'
The in a case launched by South Africa accusing Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.
The case seeks a halt to the military campaign, which .
But Netanyahu insisted no court or military foe could stop Israel from achieving its aim of destroying Hamas.
"No one will stop us - not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil and no one else," he told a televised press conference, referring to the Iran-aligned "axis of resistance" groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
"It is possible and necessary to continue until victory and we will do it," he added, saying most Hamas battalions in Gaza had been "eliminated".
Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi said the war in Gaza was a struggle "for our right to live here in safety", adding that the 7 October attacks would never be forgotten.
'She died with bread in her hand'
Health officials in Gaza said that Israeli strikes killed at least 60 people in the besieged territory on Friday.
Nimma al-Akhras, 80, described the strike that destroyed her home.
"It was very powerful," she said. "We started to scream and I couldn't move but someone pulled me out and put me on a cart."
The Israeli army said it struck dozens of rocket launchers that were "ready to be used" in central Gaza and eliminated four "terrorists" in air strikes on Khan Yunis, Gaza's main southern city.
The military also reported that its engineers had destroyed a Hamas "command centre" and weapons found there, after a raid in central Gaza.
At Rafah's Al-Najjar hospital, mourners gathered and prayed around the bodies of slain relatives.
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, 13 January, 2024. Source: AP / AP
"She died hungry with bread in her hand. We tried to remove the bread from her hand but it was held tight," Araf said.
"This is the resistance they are targeting in Gaza, just children."
Houthis vow 'strong response' after US strike
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels said they would respond to the latest strike in Yemen by the United States.
The US carried out another strike in Yemen overnight, further ratcheting up tensions as the US vowed to protect shipping from attacks by the Iran-aligned group.
The latest strike, which US officials said hit a radar site, came a day .
"This new strike will have a firm, strong and effective response," Houthi spokesman Nasruldeen Amer told al-Jazeera, adding there had been no injuries nor "material damages".
Mohammed Abdulsalam, another Houthi spokesman, told Reuters the strikes, including the one overnight that hit a military base in Sanaa, had no significant effect on the group's ability to prevent Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
The Pentagon said on Friday the US-UK strikes had "good effects".
The Houthis say their maritime campaign aims to support Palestinians under Israeli siege and attack in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.
Many of the vessels they have attacked had no known connection to Israel.
In Sanaa, Hussein Kabsi, a retired government employee, said supporting the Palestinians was a "religious and moral duty".
"Our stance is unwavering, we will (continue) to stand with our brothers in Palestine and Gaza until victory and until all Palestinian land is liberated - not just Gaza," he said.
US President Joe Biden warned on Friday that he could order more strikes if the Houthis do not stop their attacks on merchant and military vessels in one of the world's most economically vital waterways.
At the UN Security Council on Friday, Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US and the United Kingdom "single-handedly triggered a spillover of the conflict (in Gaza) to the entire region".
Yemenis wave Palestinian flags during a protest in Sana'a 12 January 2024, following US and UK airstrikes on Houthis military sites. Source: EPA / EPA
Israel vowed to destroy Gaza's Islamist rulers and , mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the territory's health ministry.
