Israel-Palestine live: Israel’s response to South Africa’s genocide case at the ICJ ends

South Africa's Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola told members of the press outside the ICJ that Israel had failed to disprove South Africa's case today, and that he rejects Israel's claims of self-defence as an excuse for genocide.

Zane Dangor, director general of South Africa's Ministry of International Relations, said that South Africa "reject[s] with contempt" Israeli claims that South African officials praised Hamas following its 7 October attack.

The United States has said that there are no plans to send more troops to Yemen following US and British strikes on the region, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Friday.

Meanwhile, Iraq's militia group, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba said that US interests and those of coalition countries "will not be safe" following the attacks.

Israel’s team has finished its oral arguments at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. 

South Africa made its presentation yesterday. This also brings to an end the two-day hearing into South Africa's case of genocide against Israel in its war on Gaza.

As the hearing ended Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a statement saying that no evidence has been presented against Israel, but "only indications of a moral warfare like no other".

"South Africa itself undermines the genocide allegation by supporting the terrorist organisation Hamas, which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel," he added.

"I hope the complaint will be dismissed at the threshold, and I believe that justice will prevail," he concluded

Israel's deputy attorney general, Gilad Noam, told the ICJ panel that the "shock and deep pain that has affected Israelis since October 7 naturally led to harsh statements on the enemy who is committed to destroy Jews and Israelis."

He said that "any statement calling for intentional harm to civilians contradicts the policy of Israel and may amount to a criminal offense, including incitement. Several such cases are examined in Israeli law enforcement system."

ICJ president Joan Donoghue ended today’s proceedings noting that the court will announce its decision in the coming days.

While Israel is at the ICJ defending itself against genocide charges, and alleging that it is facilitating humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza, the UN in a statement on Friday has claimed otherwise. 

The United Nations humanitarian office said that Israeli authorities were systematically denying it access to northern Gaza to deliver aid, and this had significantly hindered the humanitarian operation there.

"The operations in the north have become increasingly more complicated," said Andrea de Domenico, head of the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"We have systematic refusal from the Israeli side of our effort to get there, to access the north."

Israeli advocate for Israel, Omri Sender, made a series of claims in defence of Israel: 

• Israel is phasing the war to a new stage, speaking of a "new, less intense" phase of fighting, reducing the amount of troops in Gaza - therefore most of the Israeli destruction in Gaza is over now
• Sender said that Israel is working with a senior UN coordinator, according to a UN Security Council measure, and directed "to map the needs of a future return of Palestinians to northern Gaza" - but no timeline for this has been given and the UN reported on Friday that Israel is blocking aid to the north
• Israel has allowed some food and water into the Gaza Strip, therefore it "shows that Israel remains bound by its international and legal obligations, especially as a party to the Genocide Convention," said Sender.

Galit Raguan has just spoke on behalf of Israel in a testy and often tendentious remarks to the courts: 

• Initially Raguan started off by started off by blaming Hamas for the high civilian toll in Gaza in which more than than 80,000 Palestinians the majority who are women and children have been killed or wounded
• “Urban warfare will always result in civilian harm,” said Raguan. They “may be the unintended, but lawful result of attacks on military targets. They do not constitute genocidal acts”
• In Gaza, Israel alleged that Hamas has embedded itself “among the civilian population”
• South Africa says Israel “deliberately and unlawfully” destroyed homes. However, Raguan says harm to “local military objectives” is not evidence of genocide
• Raguan claims Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes without providing evidence of such action
• Despite evidence to the contrary, Raguan, claims Israel has not bombed hospitals. Damage to hospitals has been caused as the result of "hostilities" in the "vicinity of hopsitals"
• Israeli, she says provides advanced warnings before they launch any attack. There has been numerous accounts that the places where Palestinians have been asked to move to by the Isralei military has also been attacked by Israel

Malcolm Shaw the main legal advocate at the ICJ made the following concluding remarks:

• Shaw presented intense Israeli bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip as a case of “self-defence”
• If Israeli soldiers violated the laws of war, they will be judged within Israel's "robust" legal system, said Shaw. Israeli soldiers are rarerly tried or convicted in Israeli courts for crimes they commit against Palestinians
• "Remarks or actions by a soldier do not and cannot reflect policy. What comes from the IDF chief of staff clearly show the intent to prevent and reduce civilian casualties and following the rules of war"
• Shaw said calls for genocide by Israeli politicians are "random quotes which are not in conformity with government policy is misleading at best"
• Israel has sought to prevent a "humanitarian disaster" in Gaza 
• Shaw also cites Israeli military directives in effect since October 7, in one of which, he says “‘attacks will be solely directed at military targets while adhering to the principles of distinction, proportionality, taking precautions in attacks to reduce collateral damage’ — this is a directive that binds all IDF forces”

In a rare show of open criticism of its western allies, Oman has denounced last night's American and British air strikes against Yemen's Houthis, warning of an expansion of the Israel-Gaza war in the region. 

Oman’s foreign ministry issued a statement warning of a spillover effect as a result of Israel's attack on Gaza.

“We denounce the resort to military action by allies while Israel persists in its brutal war without accountability,” the statement said, adding that the country is following with “great concern” the developments of the US-UK bombing of several cities in Yemen.

Malcolm Shaw is Israel’s next legal representative that has taken the floor to speak on behalf of Israel. 

The conversation has become somewhat technical and is largely about whether the court has jurisdiction in considering the case. Naturally Israel is suggesting that the court's jurisdiction is limited or not at all. 

Here is a summary of what he has said so far:

• While Hamas’s attack does not give Israel the right to breach international law, it does mean Israel has the right to defend itself in line with humanitarian law
• The case against Israel relates only to charges of genocide, which “stands alone among violations of international law as the epitome of evil”. If the charge of genocide is levelled incorrectly, “the essence of this crime would be lost”

During his opening remarks, Becker rejected South Africa's description that the suffering in Gaza is "unparalleled and unprecedented."

Becker said that "What is unparalleled is the degree to which Hamas has entrenched itself in the civilian population," he added.

South Africa's request to stop Israel attacking Gaza "can not stand" said the Israeli advocate. 

In other remarks Becker said: 

• Hamas has systematically and unlawfully embedded its military operations, fighters and assets throughout Gaza
• “What Israel is doing is Gaza is not to destroy people but protect people. Its people,” he said. “Israel is in a war of defence against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people.”
• Hamas uses civilian infrastructure and fails to protect its civilians

Tal Backer, representing Israel says:

• South Africa attempted to weaponise the term genocide against Israel
• Hamas committed a “wholesale massacre”
• The case made yesterday “ignored” the events of October 7
• "The entirety of its case hinges on a deliberately curated, decontextualized and manipulative description of the reality of current hostilities"

The legal adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tal Becker, is making the opening statements for Israel.

The prosecution has put forth a "profoundly distorted and legal picture," Israel says in opening statement.

The second day of the hearing at the Hague in the Netherlands has started against South Africa’s case against Israel has started.

We are minutes away from the hearing starting.

Middle East Eye will be following and posting about the events in the court live. 

"The American-British enemy carried out 73 strikes across Yemen, killing five individuals and wounding six others," said the Houthis' military spokesman on Friday.