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South Africa on Thursday urged the judges of the United Nations\u2019 top court to order Israel to end its ground assault on Rafah in southern Gaza, saying it put Palestinian life in the enclave at imminent risk of destruction.<\/p>\n
The hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague came after South Africa requested last week that the court issue further constraints on Israel<\/a> in its military campaign in Gaza. In filings disclosed by the court, South Africa cited the \u201cirreparable harm\u201d posed by Israel\u2019s incursion into Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where half of the territory\u2019s population had sought refuge.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has become increasingly clear that Israel\u2019s actions in Rafah are part of the end game in which Gaza is utterly destroyed as an area capable of human habitation,\u201d Vaughan Lowe, a British lawyer, told the court. \u201cThis is the last step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Lowe was part of the South African legal team that presented its case over two hours on Thursday.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s filings said the rights of Palestinians in Gaza were under threat, adding that Israel\u2019s control over two major border crossings in southern Gaza \u2014 at Rafah and at Kerem Shalom \u2014 put at extreme risk the flow of humanitarian supplies into Gaza and the ability for hospitals there to function.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult to imagine such a situation could get worse, but, unfortunately, it has,\u201d John Dugard, another member of the South African team, told the court.<\/p>\n Several members of the team addressed the court in an attempt to build their case, quoting frequently from warnings by senior United Nations officials that an assault on Rafah would worsen conditions for civilians and the enclave\u2019s hunger crisis. <\/p>\n One member of South African legal team, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, quoted statements by senior Israeli officials that he said showed an intent to destroy Gaza as a whole and not simply Hamas, the country\u2019s stated enemy.<\/p>\n The legal team also asked the court to order Israel to facilitate access to Gaza for aid workers, investigators, fact-finding missions and journalists.<\/p>\n One of the lawyers, Adila Hassim, showed the court a photo of shattered buildings in Khan Younis, a city north of Rafah, to illustrate the devastation caused by Israel\u2019s military in Gaza as a whole. Ms. Hassim appeared to be on the verge of tears as she described the deaths of children in the military campaign.<\/p>\n Israel has vehemently denied South Africa\u2019s claims, repeating that it has placed no restrictions on the amount of aid entering the enclave and that it has taken steps recently to ramp up the amount of food and other supplies going in, including opening two crossing points in northern Gaza.<\/p>\n Israel has also said<\/a> that its latest assault on eastern Rafah was a \u201cprecise operation\u201d targeting only members of Hamas, the terrorist group that led the Oct. 7 attacks, which Israeli authorities say killed more than 1,200 Israelis and led to the capture of about 250 others.<\/p>\n Israel is expected to make its defense before the court on Friday. Gilad Noam, Israel\u2019s deputy attorney general for international law, is among the officials in the Israeli delegation who are expected to address the court. It was not clear when the court would issue a decision, but given that South Africa said on Thursday that it\u2019s petition was extremely urgent because an assault on Rafah is ongoing, it appeared possible that a ruling could come soon.<\/p>\n The hearings are part of South Africa\u2019s case accusing Israel of genocide, which it filed in December<\/a>. In late January, the court ordered Israel to do more<\/a> to prevent acts of genocide, but it stopped short of calling for a cease-fire. The main case, dealing with the accusation of genocide, is not expected to start until next year.<\/p>\n The court, established by the founding charter of the United Nations in 1945, was created to settle disputes between member states. It has no means of enforcing its orders, but the South Africa case has contributed to the international pressure on Israel to rein in its campaign in Gaza. <\/p>\n Marlise Simons and Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting.<\/p>\n