South Africa wraps ‘genocide’ claims, demands immediate halt to war; no mention of Hamas entrenchment in Gazan civilian life

THE HAGUE — The three-and-a-half-hour hearing in the International Court of Justice ends, following presentations by South Africa’s legal delegation charging Israel with committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas following the terror group’s October 7 atrocities.

Its ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, completes South Africa’s presentations by reiterating its demands of the court, the first of which is an “immediate” halt to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

The thrust of the South African argument brings together the heavy death toll of Palestinian civilians; the widespread damage caused to civilian infrastructure; the severely limited access Gazans have to food, water, medical supplies and medical treatment; and the restrictions on the entry of fuel into the territory.

South Africa’s presentation combines this with highly inflammatory statements made by some senior Israeli government ministers that could imply that civilians are being targeted, and alleges that Israel has genocidal intent and is conducting a genocidal campaign against the general Palestinian population of Gaza.

The inflammatory comments by Israeli ministers will require explanation by Israel’s defense team to counter allegations of genocidal intent.

But South Africa’s argument lacks any mention of how deeply Hamas entrenched its military installations and fighters among Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

Its legal representatives also say that Israel is “exterminating” Palestinians in Gaza and “herding them into smaller and smaller areas to be attacked, killed and harmed,” and compare the IDF’s operation to “the killing fields of Cambodia.”

Earlier in today’s hearing, John Dugard, a member of South Africa’s legal team, called the Gaza Strip “a concentration camp where genocide is taking place.”

He was laying out arguments that South Africa has jurisdiction to take Israel to court over the genocide charge, and was repeating remarks made in 2023 by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza,” Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa, also told the court earlier. “The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state.”