Israel presents its vision of what is happening in Gaza before the International Court of Justice in response to South Africa’s lawsuit

Israel has criticized South Africa's International Court of Justice case against it as "completely divorced" from reality, with Pretoria calling on judges to order a ceasefire in Gaza.

The chief lawyer representing Israel, Gilad Noam, told the International Court of Justice on Friday that “South Africa is presenting to the court for the fourth time a picture that is completely separate from the facts and circumstances.”

He added: "South Africa distorted the facts to support its allegations of genocide in the Gaza Strip."

He pointed out that the war against the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip is “tragic” but is not classified as “genocide,” explaining, “There is a tragic war taking place, but there is no genocide.”

He continued, "The exceptional incidents during the war in Gaza do not constitute evidence of genocide."

Pretoria called on the International Court of Justice yesterday, Thursday, to issue an order to Israel to stop its attack on Rafah,  which the Hebrew state says is “necessary to eliminate Hamas.”

Israel had previously affirmed its “firm commitment to upholding international law” and considered that “the South African issue is completely baseless” and “morally repugnant.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a "large-scale ground attack in Rafah," which he considers the last stronghold of Hamas, "is necessary to eliminate the resistance movement."

Israel announced on Thursday that it would "intensify its ground operations in Rafah" despite international warnings against launching a large-scale attack on this densely populated city in the besieged Palestinian Strip.

But Netanyahu considered that Israel had avoided a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Rafah, and said in a statement, a copy of which was published by his office in Arabic, “So far, nearly half a million people have been evacuated in Rafah from the combat zones, as the humanitarian catastrophe they were talking about has not occurred, and will not happen.” .

For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced that the military operation in Rafah "will continue with the entry of additional forces."

On Thursday, the court heard at the Peace Palace, the headquarters of the highest judicial body of the United Nations, from lawyers representing South Africa, who spoke of “mass graves, torture, and deliberate obstruction of the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.”

The most senior lawyer representing South Africa, Vusimuzi Madonsela, said: “South Africa had hoped, when we last appeared before this court, to stop this process of genocide in order to preserve Palestine and its people,” adding, “Instead, the Israeli genocide continued at an accelerating rate and has just reached a stage.” "New and horrific."

South Africa demands a ceasefire from the court, saying that "the situation on the ground, especially in Rafah, requires new action from the International Court of Justice."