Israel-Hamas war: US completes Gaza floating aid pier

• US completes its floating aid pier off the Gaza coast
• Five Israeli soldiers have been killed by friendly fire in northern Gaza
• ICJ to hear South African request to order halt to Israel's operations in Rafah

Here are the latest developments from the Israel-Hamas warand the wider Middle East region on Thursday, May 16:  

05/16/2024May 16, 2024

ICJ to hold hearings into South Africa case against Israeli offensive in Rafah

The United Nations' top court opens two days of hearings on Thursday into a request from South Africa to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah.

South Africa has asked forthree emergency orders from the court, while the body also hears arguments into South Africa's broader case that accuses Israel of committing "acts of genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza.

In January, judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive in Gaza as South Africa had asked. 

05/16/2024May 16, 2024

Israel says five soldiers killed by friendly fire in Gaza

The Israeli military said on Thursday five soldiers were killed in the northern Gaza Strip when they were struck by Israeli tank fire.

"Five soldiers of the 202nd Paratrooper Battalion were killed last night in a mass casualty incident as a result of fire by our forces," the military said in a statement.

"From the initial investigation ... it appears that the tank fighters, from the ultra-Orthodox paratrooper company Hetz, identified a gun barrel coming out of one of the windows in the building, and directed each other to shoot at the building," the statement added.

Two tanks shells were fired into the house being used by the battalion's deputy commander, according to the military.

There have been regular instances of Israeli soldiers being killed by friendly fire. On December 12, the military said friendly fire accounted for more than a tenth of its casualties.

Israeli tanks have re-entered northern Gaza after having declared victory there in the early months of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel says renewed combat operations are meant to prevent Hamas militants from reestablishing control. 

05/16/2024May 16, 2024

Floating aid pier completed off Gaza coast

The US military has finished installing afloating pier off the coast of Gaza that will allow additional humanitarian aid to enter the enclave.

US President Joe Biden announced construction of the temporary pier in March.

The facility has two parts — a pier where shipments will be offloaded and a causeway to transfer aid for onward distribution inside Gaza.

"Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin moving ashore in the coming days," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X, formerly Twitter.

"The United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution into Gaza."

Security challenges and difficult weather hampered the completion of the pier, according to CENTCOM. 

Aid agencies have criticized Israel over the closing of border crossings which has slowed down the entry of essential aid into Gaza.

Israel's recent incursion into Rafah on the Egyptian border, a key entry point into the enclave where over a million Palestinians were seeking refuge, has further complicated the situation, according to the UN's World Food Program.

Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, since Israel began its military operations following the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7 that left around 1,200 people dead.

Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and others, also took some 250 people hostage.

rm/ab (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)