Israel in the UN International Court of Justice denies genocide charges

Israel at the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague denies charges of genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tal Becker called the version of the plaintiffs “very distorted.” He said that acts of genocide were committed by Hamas against Israelis.

Israel claims that it is waging a war in the Gaza Strip with units of Hamas, a group recognized as terrorist by the United States and the European Union, and not with the Palestinians as such. He explains the large number of victims among the civilian population by the fact that Hamas deliberately places its military facilities in the middle of civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, mosques and hospitals, and uses the civilian population as human shields.

Becker reminded the court about the attack by Hamas on the south of Israel on October 7 last year, when about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed, and more than 200 were taken hostage. He emphasized that Hamas militants acted with unprecedented cruelty, killing, raping and interrogating Israelis, including children and the elderly. Calls to Israel to end the war in Gaza, in his opinion, are tantamount to calls to deprive Israel of its right to self-defense and force it to abandon its obligations to protect its country and its citizens.

“The incredible suffering of civilians — both Israelis and Palestinians — is primarily the result of Hamas’s actions, its strategy,” Becker said.

Counselor of the Ministry of Justice of Israel, Professor Halit Raguan, presented in court documentary photos of Hamas rockets and rocket launchers discovered by the Israeli military in residential buildings and on the roofs of the UN mission in Gaza, as well as military tunnels under the Al-Shifa hospital. “In every hospital searched by the IDF, traces of military presence were found,” she said. Raguan emphasized that the IDF is trying to minimize civilian casualties by warning in advance about shelling and recommending that people leave dangerous areas.

• Hearings on charges of genocide against Israel began at the UN International Court of Justice on Thursday, January 11. The lawsuit was filed in December by representatives of the South African Republic. South Africa strives to prove that Israel’s actions go beyond self-defense and bear signs of genocide. In particular, the plaintiffs note a large number of dead Palestinians, forced displacement, cessation of food supplies, and birth control due to the siege of hospitals. South Africa intends to seek from the court the adoption of a protective order, which will oblige Israel to immediately cease hostilities.
• According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 23,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, died in the sector due to Israeli attacks. There is no independent confirmation of these figures.
• According to the definition of the Genocide Convention of 1948, acts aimed at the complete or partial destruction of one or another national, ethnic, racial or religious group are considered genocide.