<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Israel defended the military necessity of its Gaza offensive today at the International Court of Justice and asked judges to throw out a request by South Africa to order it to halt operations in Rafah and withdraw from the Palestinian territory.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Israeli justice ministry official Gilad Noam called South Africa’s case, which accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention, “completely divorced from facts and circumstances”.</div><div><br></div><div>“(The case) makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide,” Noam said.</div><div><br></div><div>He called it “an obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention”, referring to the international treaty banning genocide, agreed after the Holocaust of European Jews in World War II.</div><div><br></div><div>The convention requires all countries to act to prevent genocide, and the ICJ, also known as the World Court, which hears disputes between states, has concluded that this gives South Africa a right to make the case.</div><div><br></div><div>A woman who yelled “Liars!” during Israel’s presentation was removed by security guards, a rare protest in the “Great Hall of Justice” courtroom in The Hague.</div><div><br></div><div>“There is a tragic war going on, but there is no genocide” in Gaza, Noam said.</div><div><br></div><div>In past rulings, the court has rejected Israel’s demands to dismiss the case and ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians, while stopping short of ordering it to halt the assault.</div><div><br></div><div>Ahead of Israel’s presentation, several dozen pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside, displaying photographs of hostages taken by Hamas fighters on Oct 7 and demanding their release. - Reuters</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd/fas</div>