Israel urges ICJ to reject claim Rafah operations violate initial Gaza orders

In a three-page submission released Thursday by the court, Israel labeled the new South African request “ highly peculiar and improper."

Israel on Thursday urged the United Nations’ highest court to reject an urgent South African request to consider whether Israel’s military operations targeting the southern Gaza city of Rafah breach provisional orders the court handed down last month in a case alleging genocide.

South Africa asked the International Court of Justice to decide whether Israel’s strikes on Rafah, and its intention to launch a ground offensive on the city where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering, breaches both the U.N. Genocide Convention and preliminary orders handed down by the court last month in a case accusing Israel of genocide.

In a three-page submission released Thursday by the court, Israel labeled the new South African request “ highly peculiar and improper.”

It goes on to say the request is “evidence of a renewed and cynical effort by South Africa to use provisional measures as a sword, rather than a shield, and to manipulate the Court to protect South Africa’s longtime ally Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization, from Israel’s inherent right and obligation to defend itself” and seek to free the more than 130 hostages still being held by Hamas.

Israel strongly denies committing genocide in Gaza and says it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas militants. It says Hamas’ tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties.

Israel’s assault has wrought destruction in Gaza, with more than 28,000 people killed, over 70 per cent of them women, children and young teens, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Around 80 per cent of the population has been displaced and the U.N. says more than a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza are being pushed toward starvation.

Israel says it has killed thousands of militants in its aim of crushing Hamas in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel. About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

In a statement Tuesday, South Africa’s government called Rafah “the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza.” It asked the top U.N. court to consider using its powers to issue additional preliminary orders telling Israel to halt the deaths and destruction there.