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

Amid mounting calls for a comprehensive ceasefire in Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, South Africa has invoked the Genocide Convention and lodged a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. 

The application, filed last month, delineates the atrocities perpetrated by Israel in Gaza in the wake of the 7 October operation by Hamas.

The application, while acknowledging and unequivocally condemning the actions of Palestinian armed groups on 7 October, emphasises that these acts cannot serve as justification for the crime of genocide. 

The South African document notes that the Genocide Convention states that all parties to the convention have a duty to prevent or punish the crime of genocide, and based on emerging evidence in Gaza, it is South Africa’s view that Israel has contravened the convention both by perpetrating genocide and by not acting to prevent genocide, nor punishing incitement to genocide. 

It argues that Israel’s acts and omissions are genocidal in nature, as it seeks to bring about the destruction of Palestinians as a national, racial or ethnic group. 

Read more: How South Africa's genocide case is challenging the imperial order

Sufficient aid is entering the Gaza Strip and there is no food shortage, an Israeli official has said ahead of South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). 

Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of the defence body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs in Gaza said that contrary to UN reports that detail widespread starvation in the Strip, he alleged that “there is no food shortage in Gaza.”

The UN, international human rights organisations and Palestinians living in Gaza have warned of impending famine, drought and epidemics overwhelming the Strip. 

The former far-right Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, has called Thursday's much anticipated trial at the International Court of Justice a "sham" in an outburst on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

The legal proceedings were a "show of hypocrisy, antisemitism and shame," he said adding that it was Hamas who on 7 October "for no reason attacked" Israel. 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague will hold hearings on Thursday and Friday in response to South Africa's accusation of genocide against Israel.

More than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing war on Gaza, including more than 9,000 children.

South Africa wants an emergency order calling on Israel to suspend its military campaign, which it launched after an attack by Hamas-led Palestinian fighters on 7 October, which killed 1,140 people, according to Israeli officials.

The state filed the lawsuit at the end of December, citing statements made by Israeli public officials and the actions of its military.

It is the first time Israel is being tried under the United Nations’ Genocide Convention, which was drawn up after the Second World War in light of the atrocities committed against Jews and other persecuted minorities during the Holocaust.

Read more: What you need to know about South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ

Good morning readers of Middle East Eye,

We are on the 97th day of the war on Gaza and the Palestinian death toll in Gaza is officially 23,357 with 59,410 wounded and more than 7,000 missing who are believed to be dead and buried under rubble. 

Against this violent backdrop the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will begin hearing arguments in just under 4 hours alleging that Israel is committing genocide in its war in Gaza.

South Africa, which has brought the case to the UN’s top court in The Hague, is asking the ICJ to act urgently “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the genocide convention, which continues to be violated with impunity”.

Middle East Eye will be covering the latest developments as they happen. 

Here are some other major developments from the last few hours: 

• Colombia becomes the latest country to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice ahead of today’s hearings
• Seven killed, many injured in attack on Khan Younis house
• At least 40 Palestinians have been killed and wounded after an Israeli attack on a residential home near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza
• Hamas is ‘neither defeated nor destroyed’ in northern Gaza, says US think tank 
• The UN Security Council adopts a resolution calling for a halt to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea 
   

Good evening readers of Middle East Eye,

Israeli forces have killed at least 147 Palestinians and wounded 243 more across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Wednesday. 

This brings the death toll since 7 October to at least 23,357 with 59,410 wounded and more than 7,000 missing who are believed to be dead and buried under rubble. 

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council called for an immediate cessation of attacks on ships in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels, implicitly supporting a US-led naval task force protecting these vessels, while advising caution to avoid further escalation of tensions.

The resolution, passed by the Security Council with 11 votes in favour, no objections, and four abstentions, urged the Houthis to immediately release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier connected to an Israeli businessman, and its crew, which were seized on 19 November, Reuters reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, less than a day before the International Court of Justice hearings, says he does not intend to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

In a video posted on X, he says: "I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population."

He adds: "Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law."

"Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages. Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarised and deradicalised, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike."

On Thursday, the ICJ will hear South Africa's petition seeking to investigate Israel for war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

"I want to make a few points absolutely clear:
Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.
Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law. pic.twitter.com/amxFaMnS0P

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 10, 2024

Numerous global legal and civil society groups support a US lawsuit against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, alleging their failure to avert an ongoing genocide in Gaza, The Intercept reported.

In late December, 77 groups encompassing tens of thousands of legal professionals, leaders in civil society, and activists from six continents, filed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit initiated by Palestinian human rights groups, Gaza residents, and US citizens with relatives affected by Israel’s continuous operations, against the Biden administration.

The groups say that the plaintiffs have demonstrated an ongoing genocide, or a grave risk of it, against Palestinians in Gaza, The Intercept reported.

They also add that the US is breaching its international legal obligations to both prevent and avoid complicity in genocide. These failures by the US, they argue, are undermining established international legal norms, as set out in the Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The lawsuit is scheduled for a hearing later this month in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

The White House said on Wednesday that the Red Sea assaults by Yemen's Houthi militants are "escalatory", and added that the US will collaborate with allies on future actions should these attacks persist.

"Despite what the Houthis may say, they are threatening and targeting commercial vessels with ties to countries all over the world, many of which have no connection to Israel whatsoever," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

"These attacks are unlawful and escalatory," he added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Yemen's Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes will face consequences, underscoring to Iran the necessity to halt their support.

"We've also repeatedly tried to make clear to Iran, as other countries have, as well, that the support that they're providing to the Houthis, including for these actions, needs to stop," Blinken told reporters.

Yemen's Houthi movement said it targeted a US ship on Wednesday morning as a "primary response" to a previous American attack that killed 10 members of the group. 

Military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a brief statement that a US ship "supporting Israel" was targeted with ballistic missiles and drones.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said on Wednesday that increasing aid to Palestinians in Gaza necessitates a "decisive stance" from the global community to advocate for a ceasefire, as per a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

Sisi met with Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Aqaba, a Jordanian city by the Red Sea, where the trio collectively dismissed any endeavours they perceived as "liquidating the Palestinian cause".

In a palace statement, both Abdullah and Sisi said they rejected any Israeli plans to separate the fate of Gaza from the Israeli-occupied Palestine, adding the two entities were the basis of a future Palestinian state.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Wednesday that four of its staff have been killed in an Israeli attack on an ambulance in the Salah al-Din area of central Gaza.
 

An Israeli delegation landed in Cairo on Wednesday for discussions with Egypt on a possible captive release deal, according to Haaretz, citing an Egyptian official. 

Efforts to discuss a new swap deal were disrupted last week when Israel assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas official based in the Lebanese capital Beirut. 
 

The World Health Organization cancelled another planned medical aid mission to Gaza on Wednesday over security concerns, Reuters reported.

The WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said it was the sixth mission to northern Gaza cancelled by the UN agency because requests to visit had not been approved or assurances over security provided since its last visit, on 26 December.

"Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortage and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need," he told a virtual press conference from Geneva. "We call on Israel to approve requests by WHO and other partners to deliver humanitarian aid."