Judges at the International Court of Justice listen to South Africa's presentation on January 11, the first of two days of proceedings related to the accusation of Israel committing genocide in Gaza (Photo: ANP/AFP).
On the first day of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing in the case, South Africa said Israel's air and ground attacks were aimed at "dehumanizing" Gaza.
"The intention to destroy Gaza was nurtured at the highest levels of the state," Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, representing the South African High Court, told the court.
"That is clearly shown in the way this military offensive was carried out," Mr. Ngcukaitobi said on January 11.
Israel will present its case before the ICJ on January 12. It has consistently rejected South Africa's accusations of genocide, calling them baseless.
Israel launched an all-out war after Hamas launched an attack on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.
The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".
The bodies of family members killed in Israeli bombings are laid out at a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on January 10 (Photo: AFP).
South Africa has long maintained a pro-Palestinian stance. Relations between the two sides were formed when the Palestine Liberation Organization supported the African National Congress's struggle against apartheid.
At the end of its presentation, South Africa asked the court to take urgent measures to stop the war.
The ICJ is expected to decide on emergency measures later this month, but will not yet rule on the genocide allegations. Genocide proceedings can take years.
ICJ judgments are final and not subject to appeal, but the court has no enforcement power.
Israel insists it is targeting Hamas, not the Palestinian people.
Responding to the lawsuit, Israel's Foreign Ministry accused South Africa of "hypocrisy".
In court filings, South Africa also pointed out that Israel has failed to provide food, water, medicine and other essential assistance to Gaza, where Hamas took power in 2007.
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