Our newsmen had on Saturday reported that South Africa asked the ICJ on Friday for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against Hamas in Gaza.

The Israeli government spokesman, Eylon Levy on Tuesday said that Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague to counter South Africa's genocide accusations over the war with Hamas in Gaza, Palestine. 
Our newsmen had on Saturday reported that South Africa asked the ICJ on Friday for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against Hamas in Gaza.
Levy was quoted as saying that "The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel.
"We assure South Africa's leaders, history will judge you, and it will judge you without mercy.”
South Africa has for decades backed the Palestinian cause for statehood in Israeli-occupied territories and has likened the plight of Palestinians to those of the Black majority in South Africa during the apartheid era, a comparison Israel strongly denies.
The ICJ, sometimes known as the World Court, is the United Nations venue for resolving disputes between states. Israel's foreign ministry has said the suit was "baseless."
A spokesperson for South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Clayson Monyela, reportedly said that lawyers representing South Africa are preparing for the hearing scheduled on January 11 and 12.
Recall that the Israeli-Hamas war was triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas Islamist militants on October 7, 2023 which Israel said that at least 1,200 people were killed.
Israel responded with an air and land assault that has killed more than 22,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. While its casualty figures do not differentiate between fighters and civilians, the ministry has said that 70% of Gaza's dead are women and those under 18. Israel disputes Palestinian casualty figures and says it has killed 8,000 fighters.
Levy listed a series of measures Israel's military has taken to minimize harm to non-combatants, saying that Hamas bore full moral responsibility for the war it started and was "waging from inside and underneath hospitals, schools, mosques, homes and UN facilities".
He added that South Africa was complicit in Hamas' crimes against Israelis but Hamas denies using Gaza's population as human shields.