A LAWYER speaking for South Africa at the International Court of Justice has painted a powerful picture of “Israel’s genocidal assault” on Gaza.
South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip through its military bombardment of the enclave following the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
A team of top lawyers at The Hague laid out in stark detail the ways in which South Africa believe Israel is committing genocide.
And a statement from Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC has sparked a particularly emotional response from people following the case, with journalist Owen Jones saying it “floored” him.
She outlined how, each day, Palestinians were being “blown to pieces” and dozens of children were harrowingly being labelled WCNSFs – Wounded Child, No Surviving Family.
She said: “On the basis of the current figures, on average 247 Palestinians are being killed and are at risk of being killed each day, many of them literally blown to pieces. They include 48 mothers each day, two every hour and over 117 children each day, leaving Unicef to call Israel’s actions a war on children.
“On current rates, which show no sign of abating, each day over 3 medics, 2 teachers, more than one UN employee and more than one journalist will be killed, many while at work or in what appeared to be targeted attacks on their family homes or where they are sheltered.
“The risk of famine will increase each day. Each day, an average of 629 people will be wounded, some multiple times over as they move from place to place desperately seeking sanctuary.
“Each day over 10 Palestinian children will have one or both legs amputated, many without anaesthetic. Each day, on current rates, an average 3900 Palestinian homes will be damaged or destroyed, more mass graves will be dug, more cemeteries will be bulldozed and bombed, denying even the dead any dignity or peace.
The final section by Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrâlaigh KC has completely floored me.
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) January 11, 2024
"Each day ambulances, hospitals and medics will continue to be attacked and killed. The first responders who have spent three months without international assistance trying to dig families out of the rubble with their bare hands will continue to be targeted. On current figures, one will be killed almost every second day, sometimes in attacks launched against those attending the scene to rescue the wounded.
“Each day yet more desperate people will be forced to relocate from where they are sheltering or will be bombed in places they have been told to evacuate to. Entire multigenerational families will be obliterated.
“Yet more Palestinian children will become WCNSF. Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. The terrible new acronym born out of Israel’s genocidal assault on the Palestinian population in Gaza.”
The statement has been described as “utterly earth shattering” and “flawless” by viewers on social media. Others said it made them cry.
In her address, Ní Ghrálaigh also showed two photos of a whiteboard at a hospital in Gaza. The first showed a handwritten message on it by a doctor which said: “We did what we could. Remember us.”
The second photo was of the same whiteboard after an Israeli strike on the hospital on November 21 – which killed the author of the message. It showed the board completely obliterated.
