South Africa on Thursday accused Israel of breaching the United Nation (UN) Genocide Convention, arguing that even the deadly October 7 Hamas attack could not justify such alleged actions, as it launched a landmark case at the top United Nation (UN) court.

Pretoria has lodged an urgent appeal at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza.

Israel has dismissed the case as “atrocious” and “preposterous” and vowed to set out a robust defence on Friday.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas launched its unprecedented attack, which resulted in about one thousand- one hundred and forty (1,140) people killed in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed at least twenty-three thousand three hundred and fifty seven (23,357) people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

A world away from the death and destruction in Gaza and Israel, robed lawyers battled it out over technical legal arguments in the Peace Palace in The Hague.