On the opening day of the two-day public hearing of South Africa's genocide complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice, Israel accused South Africa of acting as the "legal arm of Hamas" terrorists.
In a statement issued by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel also referred to South Africa's lawyers in the case as "Hamas representatives in the Court," describing their arguments in court as "historic hypocrisy compounded by a series of false and baseless claims."
“South Africa, which is acting as the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization, utterly distorted the reality in Gaza following the October 7, massacre and completely ignored the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, massacred, raped and abducted Israeli citizens simply because they were Israelis in an attempt to carry out genocide,” the statement reads in part.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people.
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The country claimed that Israel breached the Genocide Convention, which governs the prevention and punishment of genocide.
South Africa declared that Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip constituted genocide since they were carried out to exterminate Palestinians.
"The conduct of Israel - through State organs, State agents, and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence - in relation to Palestinians in Gaza violates its obligations under the Genocide Convention."
Israel stated that South Africa wants Hamas to return to the Gaza Strip to continue committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and rape and sexual crimes.
"The South African lawyers are also ignoring the fact that Hamas uses the civilian population in Gaza as human shields and operates from within hospitals, schools, UN shelters, mosques and churches to endanger the lives of the residents of the Gaza Strip."
Israel claims Hamas is still holding 136 kidnapping victims from the October 7 surprise attack and has denied them medical attention.
Despite international calls for greater relief, the World Health Organisation said that its ability to give aid and support struggling hospitals in war-torn Gaza was "shrinking."
WHO officials witnessed harrowing sights of badly injured patients, including young children, begging for food in hospitals, where the majority of its health workers had fled for their own safety.
