Israel accused by South Africa of ‘genocidal acts’ in Gaza at start of UN court case

Israel has shown “chilling” and “incontrovertible” intent to commit genocide in Gaza, with full knowledge of how many civilians it is killing, the UN international court of justice in The Hague has heard, at the opening of a case Israel has described as baseless.

South Africa, which has brought the case, alleged “grave violence and genocidal acts” by Israel on the first morning of the two-day hearing, amid a febrile atmosphere outside the court in The Hague. It called on the judges to order an immediate ceasefire.

It said evidence of genocide was present in the number of civilians killed by Israel and also in statements made by its political and military leaders, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In support of its case, it showed photos of Palestinian mass graves, Israeli flags adorning wreckage in Gaza and what it claimed were videos of Netanyahu expressing support for genocide, as well as troops – taking his cue, it alleged – chanting “no uninvolved citizens”.

“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 a plausible claim of genocidal acts,” the South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the court.

Her colleague Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said that there had been “reiteration and repetition of genocidal speech throughout every sphere of state in Israel” such that “the evidence of genocidal intent is not only chilling, it is also overwhelming and incontrovertible”.

Israel, which has denied the allegations, will give its response on Friday. A march including relatives of hostages held since Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 Israelis, mainly civilians, were killed and 250 people taken hostage, arrived at the court just before proceedings began.

A screen outside the court broadcast the message: “Bring them Home” with details of the hostages. Israel has said 132 remain captive, though at least 25 of these are thought to have been killed.

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters were in separate areas but briefly came face-to-face and tried to drown each other out.

Referring to the bombing campaign in which Hassim said Israel had dropped 6,000 bombs a week in the first three weeks after 7 October and the use of 200lb bombs – “some of the biggest and most destructive bombs available” – 200 times in southern areas of Gaza designated as safe by Israel, Hassim said: “Israel has killed an unparalleled and unprecedented number of civilians. With the full knowledge of how many civilian lives each bomb will take.

“More than 1,800 Palestinian families in Gaza have lost multiple family members and hundreds of multi-generational families have been wiped out with no remaining survivors. Mothers, fathers, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, cousins, often all killed together.

“This killing is nothing short of destruction of Palestinian life. It is inflicted deliberately. No one is spared. Not even newborn babies.”

In addition to at least 23,570 people, mostly women and children, killed during Israel’s offensive in Gaza, according to its health ministry, Hassim said the bodily and mental harm inflicted on Palestinians and the imposition of conditions intended to bring about destruction, were also evidence of genocide. She alleged the displacement of Palestinians, widespread dehydration and starvation and an assault on the healthcare system.

Vaughan Lowe KC, part of the South African legal team, said: “Nothing can ever justified genocide no matter what some individuals within the group of Palestinians in Gaza may have done, no matter how great a threat to Israeli citizens might be, genocidal attacks on the whole of Gaza and the whole of its population with the intent of destroying them cannot be justified.”

Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC said that the international community had “repeatedly failed” people in Rwanda and Bosnia and the Rohingya in Myanmar.

Lowe told the court: “Some might say that the very reputation of international law, its ability and willingness to bind and to protect all people equally hangs in the balance.”