Israel accuse of genocide in Gaza by South Africa

Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to defend itself against charges of committing genocide in Gaza, a government spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. The announcement came in response to a case filed by the government of South Africa last week, alleging that Israel’s campaign against Hamas violates international law—charges the Israeli government denounced as “absurd blood libel.”

The International Court of Justice, headquartered in the Hague, Netherlands, serves as the United Nations’ venue for resolving legal disputes between states. However, its rulings can often be ignored despite the court’s considerable influence, as was the case with the ruling against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

South Africa’s petition to the ICJ on Friday claims that Israel’s retaliation for the October 7 terrorist attacks is in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, leading to mass civilian casualties in Gaza. According to the filings, South Africa alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character,” with the intention of turning the war with Hamas into a broader ethnic purge of the region.