South Africa has accused Israel of “chilling” and “incontrovertible” intent to commit genocide in Gaza on the opening day of a landmark case before the UN’s top court at The Hague.
Calling on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Israel to cease military operations in Gaza, lawyers for South Africa said that Israel has gone beyond its intention to eradicate Hamas and is aiming to bring about the “the destruction” of the besieged territory’s population. Israel was accused of breaching the UN Genocide Convention, with lawyers saying that even the 7 October attack by Hamas into Israel – during which around 1,200 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage – could not justify such actions.
