Live updates | Israel will defend itself on Day 2 of the UN top court's genocide hearings
ABC News
Israel will defend itself against South Africa’s allegation that the war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians at the United Nations’ top court Friday
Israel was set to defend itself against South Africa’s allegation that the war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians at the United Nations’ top court Friday. Israel strongly denies the claim, and its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has blasted the allegations as hypocrisy.
Although the case is likely to take years to resolve, South Africa is asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
United States and British militaries launched strikes Thursday on sites used by Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, which the Houthis say are aimed at stopping Israel’s war on Hamas. But their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and imperil a crucial trade route linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe.
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by militants. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, some 70% of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
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