Casualties of Israeli attacks in Palestine in past 4 months not 'mere statistics,' South Africa tells top UN court

Casualties of Israeli attacks in Palestine in the past four months are not "mere statistics" but "flesh and blood", South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands told the International Court of Justice on Tuesday.

"That defiance by Israel has already led to the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, including an estimated 30,000 killed in the past four months alone. These are not mere statistics Mr. President, they are flesh and blood of the Palestinian people," Vusi Madonsela told the court during the public hearings.

He recalled that the world has been witnessing in Gaza since Oct. 7 "an assault that is unprecedented in speed and severity, violates the most basic precepts of the right to the survival of a population."

Madonsela also criticized the international community for "unwillingness to hold Israel accountable for its policies and practices."

The public hearings started on Monday in the Hague following the UN General Assembly's request for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.

South Africa, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Belgium will present their arguments on Tuesday's session.

South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in late December and asked it for emergency measures to end the bloodshed in Gaza, where more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7.

The court in January ordered Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.

It also ordered Israel to take "immediate and effective" measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.

A cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7 killed an estimated 1,200 people, but the ensuing Israeli offensive into Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Despite international outcry, Israel now plans a ground invasion of Rafah, which holds around 1.4 million refugees.