South Africa on Thursday, accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and urged the United Nations' top court to put an immediate halt to Israel's military assault on the Palestinians.
During the first day of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa claimed that Israel's offensive, responsible for the destruction of much of the coastal enclave and over 23,000 reported deaths according to Gaza health authorities, was aimed at the "destruction of the population" of Gaza.
Israel have refuted the genocide accusations, labeling them as false and baseless, and denied South Africa's assertion that it was representing Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the court proceedings, stating that it was marked by hypocrisy and falsehoods.
More than 23,000 people have died, according to the Gazan health ministry, since Israel launched airstrikes and a ground invasion in response to Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, which Israel says killed about 1,200 people.
Israel’s military insists that it is prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza in line with international law.
The death toll in Gaza, Israeli officials say, is attributable in part to the use by Hamas of residential areas and civilian structures, including schools and hospitals, to launch attacks, store weapons and hide fighters.
