South Africa accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians

Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza...

South Africa formally accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians and pleaded Thursday with the United Nations’ top court to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza.

During opening statements at the International Court of Justice, South African lawyers said the latest Gaza war is part of decades of Israeli oppression of Palestinians.

The court “has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention" that amounts to "a plausible claim of genocidal acts,” South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the judges and audience in a packed room of the Peace Palace in The Hague.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the case and vowed to continue fighting Hamas, the militant group whose fighters stormed through Israeli communities on Oct. 7 and killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians.

“This is an upside-down world — the state of Israel is accused of genocide while it is fighting genocide,” he said in a video statement. “The hypocrisy of South Africa screams to the heavens."

South Africa is seeking preliminary orders to compel Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, where more than 23,000 people have died, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas.

“Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court,” Hassim said.

A decision on South Africa’s request for so-called “provisional measures” will probably take weeks. The full case is likely to last years.

Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza soon after the deadly Hamas attack. Three months later, the offensive has driven nearly 85per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes.

With only a trickle of food, water, medicine, and other supplies entering through an Israeli siege, a quarter of the territory's residents face starvation. And much of northern Gaza, including Gaza City, has been reduced to a moonscape.