World Court hears Gaza Strip genocide case against Israel

• In its written filing, South Africa says it filed its suit to "establish Israel's responsibility for violations of the Genocide Convention; to hold it fully accountable under international law for those violations."
• Israel has rejected the accusations and is scheduled to respond to the allegations at the ICJ on Friday.
• Israel ally Washington has criticized the suit as "meritless."

The U.N.'s highest court is on Thursday hearing South Africa's accusations of genocide by Israel in its ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.  

The South African government submitted its case to the International Court of Justice, also called the World Court of Hague, on Dec. 29 — nearly three months into a devastating Israeli offensive in the Gaza enclave, which follows the Oct. 7 terror attacks of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Israeli offensive has claimed over 23,000 lives in Gaza to date, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian ministry of health.

In its 84-page written filing, South Africa says it "seeks an expedited hearing" and is "making the present application to establish Israel's responsibility for violations of the Genocide Convention; to hold it fully accountable under international law for those violations; and — most immediately — to have recourse to this Court to ensure the urgent and fullest possible protection for Palestinians in Gaza who remain at grave and immediate risk of continuing and further acts of genocide."

Israel has dismissed the suit as "blood libel" — a term that describes false and antisemitic accusations of bloodletting levied against Jewish people. Israel is scheduled to respond to the allegations at the ICJ on Friday.

Critics of Israel's Gaza Strip campaign have questioned the proportionality