Israel-Hamas war: ICJ hears South Africa's genocide case

Yuval Shany, the dean of the faculty of law at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told DW that the South African legal team "had done a good job from their point of view in presenting their arguments at the International Court of Justice." 

"They have indicated that Palestinian civilians in Gaza are facing very significant threats and harm," Shany said. 

The South African team has also made quite extensive use of comments by Israeli officials that "appear to qualify either hate speech or even calls for genocide," he added.

But Shany said he sees some significant flaws in the South African case against Israel.

"Genocide is a very difficult charge to substantiate, and here they have not really addressed almost at all the fact that what is happening in the Gaza Strip is a state of war," he said.

Shany said he assumed that the South African team was hoping for the court to issue provisional measures "calling on states to introduce some temporary measures while the case is pending." 

Such a decision "might make an impact on the ground in real-time," he added.

South Africa stands a good chance of convincing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to impose provisional measures on Israel after presenting "an extremely strong case" in The Hague that shows "genocidal intent" behind Israel's military operation in Gaza, according to Cathleen Powell, associate professor of law at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

"The case is going to turn on genocidal intent," Powell told DW. "If the intention behind all the destruction [in Gaza] is not to defend Israel but to destroy a people in whole or in part, then you've got genocide."

In Powell's assessment, the ferocity of the Israeli assault on Gaza — which has resulted in over 23,000 fatalities in Gaza — combined with statements by Israeli politicians and military figures could constitute acts and intentions that would amount to genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

"You need the acts and you need the intention," Powell said, arguing that South Africa had done this by outlining "the destruction of most of Gaza and the displacement of 85% of its population" while also quoting "members of the Israeli government, members of the Knesset, people connected to the military, making statements such as 'wipe guys off the map' and 'If you have an Arab neighbor, go shoot him now.'"

The Israeli government denies that it has genocidal intentions in Gaza and will present its defense to the ICJ on Friday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up his week-long tour of the Middle East on Thursday, offering a relatively upbeat assessment on whether or not the conflict was spreading throughout the region. 

"I don't think the conflict is escalating. There are lots of danger points. We're trying to deal with each of them," he told reporters in Cairo prior to his departure. 

He said he had come away from a seven-day tour of Israel, the occupied West Bank, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and finally Egypt with a "number of concrete steps forward." 

"First, an agreement by Israel to have the United Nations send an assessment team to the north of Gaza to look at the conditions that would be necessary to start to get people moving back [from southern Gaza] to the north," he said.

"Second, we have a commitment from the Palestinian Authority to pursue meaningful reform," he said. 

Blinken also said there was agreement among countries in the region to work together and to coordinate efforts, both for Gaza and longer-term peace and stability in the region.

"There's a path that brings Israel's needs and desires for integration in the region and genuine security with, as well, Palestinian aspirations for a state of their own," he said. 

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has barred Israel from competing in its world championship events over security concerns.

The IIHF said in a statement issued Wednesday that its ruling council "has decided to restrict the Israeli National Team from participating in IIHF Championships until the safety and well-being of all participants [including Israeli participants] can be assured."

"The IIHF Council took this decision after careful consideration and based on a risk assessment, discussions with the participating countries and discussions with the hosts," it said.

The statement did not mention the Israel-Hamas war and did not say if other countries had objected to playing against Israel. Israel will remain excluded "for the time being," the IIHF said.

The IIHF had previously used similar language around safety and security to support its decision to suspend Russia and Belarus following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Although in that instance, it also explicitly appealed at some length for Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, whereas on Thursday it said that  the Israeli national team's "safety and security" were being "prioritized" when taking the decision..

German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck has rejected the case brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice.

Hamas militants "drove through the streets here with the sole aim of slaughering as many people as possible," Habeck said Thursday on a visit to Sderot, an Israeli town near the border with Gaza.

"My personal and political opinion is that one can criticize the Israeli military for using harsh measures in the Gaza Strip," Habeck said later in Jerusalem, responding to a question from DW's correspondent Tania Krämer. "However, that does not constitute genocide. Those who would commit genocide, or desire to do so if given the opportunity, are Hamas. The annihilation of the state of Israel is on their agenda."

Similarly, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbocksaid on Wednesday during a trip to Lebanese capital Beirut: "Genocide presupposes intent [towards] members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group because of their membership of this group in whole or in part."

"I cannot see this intention in Israel's self-defense against an armed terrorist organization of Hamas," she said.

Both politicians from the Green party have earlier said that Germany has a special role to play in the conflict given its unique relationship with Israel and its responsibility for the Holocaust in World War II. They have both called on for greater humanitarian assistance in Gaza

Global trade declined by 1.3% from November to December 2023 as Houthi rebels stepped up attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, according to a new report by Germany's Institute for the World Economy (IfW).

The equivalent of about 200,000 standard shipping containers pass through the Red Sea each day at present, down from 500,000 per day in November, the Kiel-based institute said.

Many of the big shipping companies have had to reroute their vessels on longer routes, with some ships requiring up to 20 additional days to reach their destination, said Julian Hinz, director of the IfW's trade policy research center.

"This is also reflected in the declining trade figures for Germany and the EU, as transported goods are now still at sea and have not already been unloaded in the harbors as planned," Hinz said in a statement. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Cairo for the last leg of his diplomatic Middle East tour before he returns to Washington.

Blinken met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, though details of their talks have yet to be released. Egypt has been a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war.

Blinken's tour has focused on averting a broader regional conflict as tensions mount on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, and to reduce the humanitarian crisis that has engulfed Gaza since the war began in early October.

South Africa's lawyers have detailed their case alleging genocide against Israel, with senior lawyer Adila Hassim saying "nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court."

"Without an indication of provisional measures, the atrocities will continue, with the Israeli Defense Force indicating that it intends pursuing this course of action for at least a year," Hassim told judges and audience in the packed, ornate room of the Peace Palace in The Hague.

South Africa has alleged that Israel has breached the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948 in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, and has urged the court to order "provisional measures" to protect Palestinians in Gaza.

The provisional measures to protect people included in South Africa's application would include Israel halting its military attacks that "constitute or give rise to violations of the Genocide Convention," and to rescind related measures amounting to collective punishment and forced displacement.

"Genocides are never declared in advance, but this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies as a plausible claim of genocidal acts," Hassim added.

A ruling on whether the court will order Israel to suspend its attacks on Hamas militants in Gaza is expected to take weeks. 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun hearing South Africa's arguments in a case accusing Israel of carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip as it carries out an offensive against Hamas militants in the Palestinian territory. 

The court will hear Israel's response to the allegations on Friday.

South Africa is first up demanding an emergency suspension of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, with a ruling on the genocide allegations likely to take years.

In opening comments, South African representatives said the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel, in which more than 1,100 Israelis, mostly civilians, died and during which multiple atrocities were committed, was no justification for Israel's current actions.

They said at least some of the acts committed by Israeli forces in Gaza went against the UN Genocide Convention, and that those acts could not be considered an appropriate response to the October 7 attacks.

"No armed attack on a state territory no matter how serious. .. can provide any justification for or defense to breaches of the convention," said Ronald Lamola, South Africa's justice minister.

Among other things, South African representatives said, the extent of bombing by Israel was unparalleled and that Israel had made the Gaza Strip virtually uninhabitable.

The hearing is being accompanied by protests from both sides of the case.

Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and accused Pretoria of playing "advocate of the devil" for Hamas, which is deemed a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, the EU and Germany, among other governments.

"Unauthorized people" in military uniforms reportedly boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman early on Thursday morning.

The incident was reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which is run by the British military and a private intelligence firm.

It occurred in an area used by ships coming in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the planet's oil consumption is traded through the strait on a daily basis.

Since the collapse of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, waters around the strait have seen a series of ship seizures by Iran. The incident also comes amid a spate of attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen on ships in the Red Sea as Israel continues its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

UKMTO said it was unable to make further contact with the vessel at this time and that authorities were investigating the incident.

The private intelligence firm Ambrey said that "six military men" had boarded the ship, which it identified as the oil tanker St. Nikolas, formerly called Suez Rajan and associated with the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation.

In September, Empire Navigation pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil on the tanker Suez Rajan and paid a $2.4 million (€2.19 million) fine.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the rules of war must be upheld, after the Palestinian Red Crescent announcement that four paramedics were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an ambulance in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

"The rules of war are clear: Parties must protect civilians, including humanitarian workers," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Red Crescent ambulance was hit on Salah al-Din Street, a major north-south axis in central Gaza.

Two passengers in the ambulance were wounded and later died.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on the incident.

The UN Security Council approved a resolution Wednesday demanding an immediate end of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea.

The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, condemned "in the strongest terms" at least two dozen attacks carried out by the Iran-backed rebels on merchant and commercial vessels.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of Yemen's Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, described the actions as self-defense.

"We call on the Security Council to immediately release 2.3 Million people from the Israeli-American siege in Gaza," he said in a post on social media. 

Since war erupted between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Houthis have launched 26attacks on ships in the Red Sea in support of their Islamist allies in Hamas.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, also known as the World Court, will begin two days of hearings on Thursday in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of not complying with its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.

South Africa will get to make its case on Thursday that Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza was "intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."

Israel has chosen to defend itself, and will be given a change on Friday of "using self defense... under international humanitarian law."

South Africa claims Israel's war against the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas in Gaza violates the 1948 Genocide Convention.

South Africa has acknowledged the "particular weight of responsibility" of accusing Israel of genocide and "unequivocally" condemned the Hamas attacks that touched off the war in Gaza.

It has asked the court to order a series of emergency measures including a suspension of military action in Gaza while the court hears the case on the merits.

"Tomorrow, the State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel, as Pretoria gives political and legal cover to the Hamas Rapist Regime," Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said on Wednesday.

Israeli forces launched its military operation in Gaza after Hamas militants carried out a cross-border terror attack on Israel on October 7 in which  1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted.

Since then more than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory has said.

While the Health Ministry doesn't differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, international humanitarian agencies consider the numbers provided by the body to be broadly reliable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country's war in Gaza is in "full compliance" with international law.

He also said Israel had no intention of permanently occupying the Gaza Strip or expelling the civilian population.

"Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages. Once this is achieved, Gaza can be demilitarized and de-radicalized," Netanyahu said.

He made the remarks a day before the International Court of Justice begins a hearing on a South African complaint that Israel is committing genocide.

"The IDF is doing its utmost to minimize civilian casualties, while Hamas is doing its utmost to maximize them by using Palestinian civilians as human shields," Netanyahu said. 

Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa described the case as a matter of principle.

"Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ," he said on Wednesday.

"As a people who once tasted the bitter fruits of dispossession, discrimination, racism and state-sponsored violence, we are clear that we will stand on the right side of history," he said.

rmt/lo (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)