South Africa has told the International Court of Justice that Israel’s plan to “destroy” Gaza comes from “the highest level of state”.
The claims were made by South African lawyers as it presented its case accusing Israel of genocide at the United Nations top court.
South Africa also called on the court to order Israel to cease military operations in Gaza.
Israel which will present its defence today vehemently rejected the accusations, describing it as “baseless”.
The court will deliver only an opinion on the genocide allegation, although it is being closely watched.
A lawyer for the High Court of South Africa, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, told the ICJ that Israel’s “genocidal intent” was evident “from the way in which this military attack is being conducted”.
“The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state,” he said.
Adila Hassim, also representing South Africa, told the court: “Every day there is mounting, irreparable loss of life, property, dignity, and humanity for the Palestinian people. Nothing will stop the suffering, except an order from this court.”
In its evidence submitted before the hearing, South Africa said Israel’s actions were “intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.
Israel said its actions in the Gaza Strip are justified because it is responding to Hamas’s deadly attacks on 7 October.
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South Africa’s Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola said that no attack “can provide justification for or defend breaches of the [Genocide] Convention”.
Israel is a signatory to the Genocide Convention of 1948, which defines genocide and commits states to prevent it.
The ICJ is the United Nation’s highest court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands. Its rulings are theoretically legally binding on parties to the ICJ which include Israel and South Africa but are not enforceable.
In 2022, the court ordered Russia to “immediately suspend military operations” in Ukraine, an order that was ignored.
Under international law, genocide is defined as committing one or more acts to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
There were angry scenes outside the ICJ’s building, known as the Peace Palace, as Dutch police struggled to keep groups of Palestinian and Israeli supporters apart.
Hundreds of people waving Palestinian flags gathered outside the ICJ, calling for a ceasefire. Israeli supporters set up a screen showing images of some of the hostages still being held in Gaza.