The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday opened hearings in a case in which South Africa is demanding an emergency suspension of Israel's military attacks on Gaza, where it says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
In two days of hearings, the World Court, as the ICJ is also known, will hear South Africa's arguments on Thursday and Israel's response on Friday.
A ruling on the emergency measures is expected later this month. The court will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations.
"Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said of the genocide accusations, rejected by Israel and its top backer, the United States.
Rejected accusations
Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media platform X: "I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population."
South Africa and Israel are both parties to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which obliges them to not commit genocide and also to prevent and punish it.
Read more: South Africa's genocide case against Israel: How the ICJ works
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