In hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, South Africa demanded an emergency suspension of Israel’s aerial and ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave, which it said was aimed at bringing about “the destruction of the population” of Gaza.
“Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza,” Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa, told the court.
“That is evident from the way in which this military attack is being conducted,” he said, adding: “The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state.”
Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and accused Pretoria of playing “advocate of the devil” for Hamas, the Palestinian group Israel is waging war against in Gaza.
The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
South Africa points to Israel’s sustained bombing campaign that has killed over 23,000 people in the small, densely populated Gaza Strip, according to its health authorities.
“Nothing will stop the suffering, except an order from this court.” South Africa has demanded that the ICJ order Israel to suspend its military campaign.
Israel launched all-out war after a cross-border rampage on October 7 by Hamas in which Israeli officials said 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage back to Gaza.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said South Africa condemned Hamas’ October 7 assault, but added that any attack, even one involving atrocious crimes, was not a justification for violations of the Genocide Convention.Israel, South Africa to face off at UN top court in Gaza genocide case
Post-apartheid South Africa has long defended the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when the African National Congress’ struggle against white-minority rule was cheered on by Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation.
The ICJ is hearing South Africa’s arguments on Thursday and Israel’s response to the allegations on Friday.
It is expected to rule on possible emergency measures later this month. The court will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations - those proceedings could take years.
The ICJ’s decisions are final and without appeal - but the court has no way to enforce them.
With the politically charged case attracting global attention, supporters of both sides of the case planned marches and rallies in The Hague.
Thousands of pro-Israel protesters marched in freezing temperatures in the city centre early on Thursday, carrying Israeli and Dutch flags and posters with images of people taken hostage by Hamas.
Heavy police presence made sure the pro-Israel march and a pro-Palestinian march, with red-and-green coloured smoke symbolising the Palestinian flag, were kept separate.
Gabi Patlis, a native of Tel Aviv who now lives in the Netherlands, said it was painful to hear Israel accused of genocide. “Especially after 7 October - we were the ones that were attacked,” he told Reuters at the rally.
Israeli forces launched their offensive after Hamas carried out a lightning attack across the border in what became the deadliest day in Israel’s 75-year history.
Since then, the offensive has laid much of the heavily built-up territory, and nearly all its 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media platform X: “I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.”
Israel has said it is waging war against Palestinian group, not the Palestinian people.
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In its court filings, South Africa cites Israel’s failure to provide food, water, medicine and other essential assistance to Gaza, where Hamas seized power in 2007, two years after Israel ended a 38-year occupation of the enclave.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that the group was following the World Court proceedings with great interest.“Justice is going to be tested today,” he said. “We urge the court to reject all pressure and take a decision to criminalise the Israeli occupation and stop the aggression on Gaza.”
Israel on Friday rejected as false and “grossly distorted” accusations brought by South Africa at the UN’s top court that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign against the Palestinian population.
It called on judges to dismiss South Africa’s request to halt its offensive, saying to do so would leave it defenceless.
South Africa, which filed the lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December, asked judges in The Hague on Thursday to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the offensive.
It said Israel’s aerial and ground offensive - which has laid waste to much of the enclave and killed more than 23,000 people - aimed to bring about “the destruction of the population” of Gaza.
The Israeli foreign ministry’s legal adviser, Tal Becker, told the court that South Africa’s interpretation of events was “grossly distorted”.
“If there were acts of genocide, they have been perpetrated against Israel,” he said. “Hamas seeks genocide against Israel.”
The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after a cross-border rampage on Oct. 7 from Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction. Israeli officials said 1,200 people were killed, mainly civilians, and 240 taken hostage back to Gaza.
“The appalling suffering of civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, is first and foremost the result of Hamas’ strategy,” Becker said, saying that Israel had a right to defend itself.
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Hamas denies Israeli allegations that its fighters hide among civilians, who account for most of the casualties in Gaza.
“Israel is in a war of defence against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people,” Becker said. “The key component of genocide, the intent to destroy a people in whole or in part, is totally lacking.”
Israel argued that this meant the court has no jurisdiction under the Genocide Convention to order it to halt its military actions in Gaza.
“This is no genocide, South Africa tells us only half the story,” lawyer Malcolm Shaw said.
The court is expected to rule on possible emergency measures later this month but will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations. Those proceedings could take years. The ICJ’s decisions are final and without appeal, but the court has no way to enforce them.
Israel, South Africa to face off at UN top court in Gaza genocide case
Palestinian backers with flags marched through The Hague and watched proceedings on a giant screen in front of the Peace Palace. As the Israeli delegation spoke in court, they chanted: “Liar! Liar!”
Asked what she thought of Israel’s arguments that the Gaza campaign was a matter of self-defence, Neen Haijjawi, a Palestinian who recently came to Netherlands, said: “How can an occupier that’s been oppressing people for 75 years say it’s self-defence?”
Israeli supporters were holding a separate gathering of family members of hostages taken by Hamas.
Israel has said South Africa was acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, Britain and several other nations. South Africa has rejected that accusation.
Since Israeli forces started their offensive, nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe.113 more dead as Israel continues bambardment
Post-apartheid South Africa has long advocated the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when the African National Congress’ struggle against white-minority rule was supported by Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organisation.
“My grandfather always regarded the Palestinian struggle as the greatest moral issue of our time,” Mandla Mandela, a grandson of the late South Africa president Nelson Mandela, said at a rally in support of the Palestinians in Cape Town.
The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that Israel had repeatedly failed to uphold international humanitarian law since it launched its offensive in Gaza in response to a cross-border rampage by Hamas on Oct. 7.
“We’ve repeatedly highlighted Israel’s recurring failures to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality and precautions in carrying out attacks,” said Elizabeth Throssell, spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“The High Commissioner has stressed that breaches of these obligations risk exposure to liability for war crimes, and has also warned of the risks of other atrocity crimes.”
