On Friday, lawyers representing Israel defended the military operation in Rafah as “limited and localized” and said judges should not try to limit Israel's actions in Gaza. Argued before the United Nations Supreme Court.
At a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Israel responded to South Africa's petition asking the court to order an immediate halt to ground attacks in Rafah.
Israeli forces have been advancing into the outskirts of Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah over the past week and a half, ordering mass evacuations and intensifying artillery bombardment ahead of a long-anticipated invasion of the city. More than 630,000 people have fled the area, many of them already from elsewhere in Gaza, according to the United Nations.
The hearing is part of a lawsuit filed by South Africa in December accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In late January, a court ordered Israel to take further steps to prevent acts of genocide, but the main case over whether genocide is being committed is not expected to be heard until next year.
Last week, South Africa asked a judge to issue an emergency order aimed at preventing large-scale civilian casualties in Rafah. South African lawyers argued in court Thursday that Israel's Operation Rafah was “the final step in the destruction of Gaza and the Palestinian people.”
Although the courts have no means of enforcing the order, the South African case is contributing to increased international pressure on Israel to curb its operations in Gaza. It is not clear when the court will rule on South Africa's request for an emergency order.
On Friday, Israel's deputy attorney general for international law, Gilad Noam, reiterated Israel's vehement denial that it is committing genocide in Gaza. He said Israeli authorities were working to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid and protect civilians amid heavy fighting across the enclave, including Rafah.
“Israel is taking steps to deal with the very complex situation that this situation presents,” Noem told the judges. “Therefore, there was no large-scale attack on Rafah, but rather certain limited and localized operations in advance of evacuation efforts and support for humanitarian operations.”
Israeli leaders say the invasion of Rafah is necessary to break Hamas's hold on Gaza. According to the Israeli military, four battalions of Hamas fighters are in the city and more than 130 living and dead hostages are still being held by Palestinian militants since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. At least some of the hostages are also said to be in the city. Gaza.
But the possibility of a large-scale ground invasion of Rafah, with hundreds of thousands of civilians evacuated, has drawn harsh criticism internationally, including from the Biden administration. After Israel began advancing into the region, President Biden said the United States would withhold some weapons if Israel launched a full-scale attack on populated areas.
Noem argued that courts risk becoming involved in “the operational micromanagement of armed conflicts.” He said a ceasefire call would only tie Israel's hands because Hamas, an armed group and not a state, is not under the court's jurisdiction.
South Africa also asked the court on Thursday to order Israel to ensure greater access for aid workers, investigators and journalists in the Gaza Strip. Noem said Israel's judicial system is working to crack down on alleged wartime misconduct, and that since the start of the war, military prosecutors have opened 55 criminal investigations into possible violations by the Israeli military.
Human rights groups say the Israeli military is unable to carry out credible investigations and that soldiers who kill Palestinians in conflict situations rarely face serious punishment. B'Tselem, Israel's leading human rights watchdog, has dismissed previous investigations by Israeli authorities into possible violations of the laws of war as a sham.
Israeli officials have filed a lawsuit and accused South Africa of acting as a “legal arm” for Hamas, which led the deadly Oct. 7 attack. Hamas announced last week that a delegation of officials attended a conference in Johannesburg. Hamas posted a photo on social media of the group's spokesperson Bassem Naim meeting with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.