Israeli strikes intensify in Gaza, Arab states warn against any re-occupation of Gaza
\nTHE HAGUE\/ GAZA
\nA top UN court opened hearings on Thursday in a case in which South Africa demands an emergency suspension of Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza, where it says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
\nIt is expected to rule on the emergency measures later this month. The court will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations – those proceedings could take years.
\n\u201cOur opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ,\u201d South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said of the genocide accusations, rejected by Israel and its top backer, the United States.
\nWith the politically charged case attracting global attention, supporters of both sides of the case planned marches and rallies in The Hague.
\nThousands of pro-Israel protesters marched in freezing temperatures in the city centre early on Thursday, carrying Israeli and Dutch flags and posters with images of people taken hostage by Hamas.
\nThe court\u2019s decisions are final and without appeal but the court has no way to enforce them.
\nIsrael claims allegations baseless
\nIsrael has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and accused Pretoria of playing \u201cadvocate of the devil\u201d for Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group it is waging war against in Gaza.
\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media platform X: \u201cI want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.\u201d
\nSouth Africa and Israel are both parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which obliges them to not commit genocide and also to prevent and punish it.
\nThe treaty defines genocide as \u201cacts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group\u201d.
\nThe Israeli offensive has laid much of the densely populated Gaza Strip to waste, and nearly all its 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.
\nPost-apartheid South Africa has long defended the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when the African National Congress\u2019 struggle against white minority rule was cheered on by Yasser Arafat\u2019s Palestine Liberation Organisation.
\nIn its court filings, South Africa cites Israel\u2019s failure to provide food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian enclave.
\nIt also points to the sustained bombing campaign which has killed over 23,000 people according to Gaza health authorities.
\nFighting in Gaza continues
\nJordan and Egypt warned on Wednesday against any Israeli re-occupation of the Gaza Strip and appealed for uprooted residents to be allowed to return home.
\nIn Gaza, Israeli strikes intensified despite Israel\u2019s pledge to pull out some troops and shift to a more targeted campaign.
\nIsrael\u2019s chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a briefing the military was focussing its operations on Khan Younis and the refugee camps in the centre of the Strip.
\nIn the latest sign of the three-month-old war spreading, US and British warships in the Red Sea fended off the biggest attack yet from Yemen\u2019s Houthi movement, which is acting to support Gaza.
\nWashington and London said they shot down 21 drones and missiles aimed at shipping lanes. No one was hurt.
\nThe UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding that the Houthis immediately cease the shipping attacks.
\nThe World Health Organization cancelled a planned medical aid mission to Gaza due to security concerns, the sixth such cancellation in two weeks.
\nThe Palestinian Red Crescent said four of its staffers were killed by an Israeli strike near Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, while Palestinian health officials said four children were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in Rafah.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli strikes intensify in Gaza, Arab states warn against any re-occupation of Gaza THE HAGUE\/ GAZA A top UN court opened hearings on Thursday in a case in which South Africa demands an emergency suspension of Israel\u2019s military campaign in Gaza, where it says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. It is expected to rule […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-380277","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n