The US Supreme Court on Monday adopted its first formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior of its nine justices, bowing to months of outside pressure over revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors.

The court released its code “to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the members of the court,” according to a brief introductory statement.

Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court’s nine life-tenured justices had long acted with no binding ethics code.

That absence, the statement said, “has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the justices of this court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules. To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.”

The court has been buffeted for months by revelations regarding justices over undisclosed trips on private jets, luxury vacations, real estate and recreational vehicle deals, and more.

The issue had become an political flashpoint, with Democrats in Congress calling on the court to adopt an ethics code, while many Republicans viewed the ethics narrative involving the court as cooked up by liberals upset at its rightward leanings.

The ethics drum beat added pressure to a court already facing declining public approval following major rulings in its past two terms powered by its conservative majority. The court ended its recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, expanded gun rights and rejected affirmative action collegiate admissions policies often used to increase Black and Hispanic student enrollment.

Most of the ethics revelations in recent months involved Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the court’s most conservative members.

The news outlet ProPublica has detailed luxury trips taken for years by Thomas provided by Texas businessman Harlan Crow as well as real estate transactions involving the justice and the billionaire Republican donor. ProPublica also reported that the conservative Koch network of political donors, which has had multiple cases before the court, has brought Thomas in recent years to its summit meetings.

A report by Senate Democrats in October also found that Thomas apparently failed to repay at least a “significant portion” of a $267,230 loan he received from longtime friend Anthony Welters to buy a luxury motor coach.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday emphasised Israel’s commitment to a protracted conflict with Hamas, declaring it a “war to the end,” CNN reported.

Speaking to soldiers of Israel’s Caracal Battalion during a visit, Netanyahu clarified that this was not merely an ‘operation’ or a ’round,’ but a sustained effort to eliminate the threat posed by the Palestinian group. “This is neither an ‘operation’ nor a ’round’ but a war to the end. It is important to me that you know this. This is not lip service, but from the heart and mind. If we do not finish them, it will come back,” the Israeli PM said.

Netanyahu, when pressed on accountability for the October 7 attack on Israel, he such “difficult” questions until the conclusion of the ongoing war. In an interview with CNN, he acknowledged the need to address accountability but emphasised the immediate necessity of uniting the country to achieve victory over Hamas.

“We’re going to answer all these questions,” the prime minister said, adding that “right now, I think what we have to do is unite the country for one purpose: to achieve victory.”

Meanwhile, a circulating image on social media revealed troops of the IDF’s Golani Brigade inside Gaza’s parliament building in Gaza City after its capture. The Palestinian Legislative Council building, which has been under Hamas’s control since 2007, saw Israeli forces gain control, The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli military also reported on Monday that it had targeted a group of Hamas fighters “embedded” among civilians at Gaza’s Al-Quds Hospital.

“During operations carried out by the 188th Brigade, RPG fire and small arms fire were directed at the soldiers from the direction of the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City,” the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

“The shooting was carried out by a terrorist squad that had embedded itself within a group of civilians at the entrance of the hospital,” it added.

According to the IDF, the fighters fired upon Israeli troops from the hospital entrance, leading to an exchange of fire that resulted in approximately 21 terrorists being killed.

On the Palestinian side, the Health Ministry in the occupied West Bank provided updated casualty figures for Gaza. It was reported that since October 7, Israeli attacks have resulted in the deaths of 11,180 Palestinians, including 4,609 children and 3,100 women. Injuries from the assaults have affected 28,200 individuals.

Fifteen patients, including six newborns, have died at Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza due to power outages and a shortage of medical supplies. The Hamas-run health ministry also noted the loss of 202 healthcare workers and the disabling of 53 ambulances.

The Ministry of Health in Ramallah, drawing data from medical sources in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, expressed challenges in updating daily reports on the death count, citing Israeli attacks on hospitals as the cause of the disruption.

The Ministry of Health in Ramallah draws data from medical sources in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, CNN reported.

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