Israel asks UN top court to throw Gaza genocide case, calls South African claims ‘absurd’
- Israel rejected accusations brought by South Africa at the UN’s top court that its operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide against the Palestinian population
- South Africa asked judges in The Hague on Thursday to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the offensive
Israel on Friday asked judges at the World Court to throw out the genocide case brought by South Africa, which had asked the UN’s top court to order an immediate end to Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
In response to what it said were false and “grossly distorted” accusations made before the court by South Africa on Thursday, Israel said the demands to stop its offensive against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.
Israel 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.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after a cross-border rampage on October 7 by militants 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.
Israel’s aerial and ground offensive has killed more than 23,000 people, according to Gaza health authorities.
South Africa has launched an emergency case arguing that Israel stands in breach of the UN Genocide Convention, signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust.