A top UN court is set to issue a preliminary ruling on Friday, with Israel discovering whether it must halt its military offensive in Gaza over allegations levelled by South Africa.
International Court of Justice President Joan E. Donoghue is to read a ruling issued by a 17-judge panel at an early stage of the South African case, which alleges that Israel’s military action in its war against Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide.
Israel denies the charges and requests the court to dismiss the case. Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy stated on Thursday:
We expect the ICJ to throw out these spurious and specious charges.
The Israeli representative reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with top legal, diplomatic and security officials on Thursday in anticipation of the ruling.
South Africa requested the judges “as a matter of extreme urgency” to impose so-called interim measures to protect Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as progressing the case in court is expected to take years.
Marieke de Hoon, an associate professor of international law at the University of Amsterdam, argued the court was unlikely to conclude the case on Friday. She also does not expect the world court to rule that Israel’s military operation should be terminated.
I think that they will shy away from actually calling for a full ceasefire, because I think they will find that beyond their abilities right now.
Israel launched a massive air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a surprise Hamas attack on October 7 that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Netanyahu vowed no pullback until his country achieved a “complete victory” over Hamas.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Friday that more than 26,000 Palestinians had been killed since the outbreak of the Israeli retaliation, with more than 64,000 wounded. The Israeli military claims that at least 9,000 of those killed in the military confrontation are Hamas militants.
South Africa’s foreign ministry announced in a statement on Thursday that it was seeking an interim ruling from the world court to “prevent the genocide of Palestinians, ensure that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance, including adequate food, water, fuel, medical and hygiene supplies, shelter and clothing.”
