Israel presented its response on the genocide case brought against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in The Hague in Netherlands, today.

The hearing started yesterday with South African lawyers presenting their case at the ICJ where the team was led by Minister of Correctional Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola. South Africa is accusing Israel of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention due to the ongoing war against the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group's murderous rampage on October 7, when more than 1,200 people were killed and 240 hostages were taken back to Gaza. South Africa condemned Hamas' attacks but said nothing could justify Israel's response, which has killed more than 23,000 people in Gaza. South African lawyers want the ICJ to order a suspension of Israel's campaign in Gaza to protect the rights of Palestinians from imminent and irreparable loss.

A lawyer leading the Israel defence Tal Becker told the court that while the civilian suffering was "tragic", Hamas sought to maximise civilian harm to both Israelis and Palestinians even as Israel seeks to minimise it. "South Africa has regrettably put before the court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture and the entirety of its case hinges on a deliberately curated, decontextualised and manipulative description of the reality of current hostilities," Becker told the court. Another Israel legal representative Gilad Noam, began his speech by accusing South Africa of having failed to show 'provisional measures' that should be put in place to protect Palestinians in Gaza from further harm. Naom said that South Africa failed to show any dispute between the countries but tried to mislead them into thinking it existed. "The applicant failed to meet the conditions of plausible right to be protected in the current circumstances. The events which are the subject of these proceedings are occurring in the framework of a war instigated by Hamas, governed by the legal framework of international humanitarian law. They do not fall within the remit of the Genocide Convention," Naom argued. Yesterday, South African lawyer, Adila Hassim, told the court that "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," he said. In his closing remarks, ICJ President Judge Joan Donoghue said the court will announce its decision in the coming days.