Israel accused in world court of trying to 'destroy Palestinian life': Updates

South Africa asked the top international court Thursday to order a halt to the Rafah offensive, accused Israel of genocide and said the country's war effort "must be stopped" to protect the Palestinian people.

South Africa’s legal representatives at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, said Israel's shutdown of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings have plunged Gaza into "unprecedented levels of humanitarian need." They demanded Israel completely withdraw from Rafah, a city of 250,000 before the war that swelled to more than 1 million as refugees fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

“From the onset, Israel's intent was always to destroy Palestinian life and to wipe them off the face of the earth," said South African law professor Max du Plessis. "Rafah is the final stand."

Israel will provide a response in court Friday. Israeli officials have previously denied in court claims the country's military campaign violates the 1949 Genocide Convention, arguing that it stepped up efforts to provide humanitarian aid for Gaza in accordance with previous court orders.

The court's rulings and orders are binding, but it has no way to enforce them. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed Israel is defending itself after the Hamas-led attack Oct. 7 that resulted in almost 1,200 deaths and the seizing of more than 250 hostages.

Egypt rips Israel: Says nation is deflecting blame for Gaza crisis

Developments:

∎ The Arab League called for a U.N. peacekeeping force in Gaza. The “Manama Declaration” issued by the 22-member bloc meeting in Bahrain said the force is needed until a two-state solution is implemented.

∎ On back-to-back nights, including Thursday, Israeli settlers physically assaulted and injured truck drivers in the occupied West Bank under the belief they were delivering humanitarian assistance to Gaza, the Times of Israel reported, citing Hebrew media reports. Also Thursday, Canada sanctioned what it called four "extremist Israeli settlers'' for acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

∎ The World Food Program said it is providing hot meals to thousands of families in central Gaza, but that remaining stocks of food parcels will run out within days. And distributions in Rafah have "come to a halt," the agency said.

∎ Israeli forces killed three men in raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, during a search of money-changing shops, the Palestinian Health Ministry and Palestinian officials said.

US-built Gaza pier: Aid delivery to population isolated by war starting

More aid goes into Gaza, but misery lingers

The number of aid trucks entering Gaza, which had dwindled substantially since Israel began its so-called limited military operation in Rafah last week, has increased recently at President Joe Biden's urging, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.

Still, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said moments before that the humanitarian situation in the territory continues to deteriorate, and travel and the flow of desperately needed fuel have "come to a complete halt." Israel said on the X platform that 20,000 gallons of fuel were brought in Thursday.

More than 7,000 trucks carrying humanitarian assistance have gone into Gaza since April 5, Jean-Pierre said. That's an average of 180 a day, considerably below the 500 that were common before the war. Jean-Pierre said trucks are entering through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south and a new one, Erez West in the north, but that operations through the critical Rafah access point remain limited.

"We need to get more aid into Gaza because we know how dire the humanitarian situation is," she said. "We have seen some progress; we need to get more in."

In its daily update Wednesday, the United Nations said the "number of drivers and trucks cleared by Israel to use (the road to Kerem Shalom) is insufficient to meet demand, causing delays and fewer aid deliveries than planned.''

Contributing: Francesca Chambers

Netanyahu to confront Defense Minister Gallant about his Gaza comments

Netanyahu said Thursday he'll have a talk with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who warned the previous day that he would stand in the way of Israel establishing a military or civil government in Gaza after the war, comments that defied the prime minister's expressed plans.

If Netanyahu intends to fire Gallant for the apparent insubordination, he'll get popular opposition. A survey by Israel's Channel 12 revealed 60% of respondents are against Gallant getting fired, compared to 23% in favor.

Speaking on television Wednesday, Gallant said Netanyahu should make a public commitment for Israel not to play a role in ruling Gaza after Hamas has been driven away, suggesting it would be better for Palestinians and "international actors'' to take over the territory's government, according to the Times of Israel.

During a meeting with reporters near the Gaza border Thursday, Netanyahu was asked whether he and Gallant − two of three voting members of Israel's War Cabinet, along with Benny Gantz − could still work together. According to the Times, he responded: “If you’re talking about what the defense minister said yesterday, then what I have to say to him I’ll first say one-on-one, and not here.”

Netanyahu, who said that meeting would take place soon, already fired Gallant once in March 2023 when the defense minister raised concerns about the impact of a judicial overhaul Netanyahu pushed for. After an outcry, Gallant was brought back.

5 Israeli soldiers killed in friendly fire tank attack

Five Israeli soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a northern Gaza incident when Israeli tanks fired shells "for unclear reasons" at a building being used by Israeli troops, the military announced Thursday. An initial investigation revealed the tanks, a few dozens yards from the building, identified a weapon and fired at least two shells, the military said in a statement. Officials were investigating "why the shells were fired and if the soldiers were mistaken for armed militants." The soldiers who died were all ages 20 to 22.

The incident took place in an area of northern Gaza initially cleared of Hamas militants early in the war. In recent days, however, Israeli forces have returned to face fierce fighting around Gaza City and the Jabalia refugee camp, raising doubts about Israel's progress in eliminating Hamas from the enclave.

Early Thursday, the Israeli military announced another issue, an "operational accident as a result of a munitions explosion in military territory" where forces were stationed in Israel less than a mile from Gaza. There was no immediate report on casualties, and the military said that incident was under investigation.

Egyptian leader says Israel has no interest in cease-fire deal

Israel is stalling to avoid all efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, and Arab leaders and the international community must unite to protect the future of all Palestinians, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said Thursday. El-Sisi, speaking at the Arab League Summit in Bahrain, said the region is facing a defining moment and must choose between peace and stability or "chaos and destruction." Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have led mediation efforts that so far have failed to reach a cease-fire agreement since a weeklong truce in November.

“We are facing the absence of a genuine international political will to end the occupation and address the root-causes of the conflict through the two-state solution,” El-Sisi said. “All the future generations of Palestine and Israel deserve to live in a region where justice thrives, peace prevails and security reigns."

Netanyahu, who has opposed a two-state solution, says Israel has the right to defend itself and has pledged to continue the military effort until Hamas is crushed.

Aid to begin flowing through US-built pier

The Pentagon has built a pier in Gaza after a two-month effort and aid is expected to begin flowing within days, Solani Korde, a senior official with the U.S. Agency for Development, said Thursday. Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, acknowledged land routes are the most efficient means of getting aid to civilians in Gaza who face dire food shortages. Border closures and tight security demanded by Israel have severely limited the flow of aid along land routes.

The new pier was fixed to the shore early Thursday, and about 500 tons of aid are staged for delivery in the next few days, Cooper said.

"Trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin moving ashore in the coming days," Central Command said in a statement. "The United Nations will receive the aid and coordinate its distribution into Gaza."

− Tom Vanden Brook

Pentagon begins building floating pier: Will ferry humanitarian aid to Gaza

Israel to send more troops into Rafah

Israel forces are "wearing down" Hamas resistance in Rafah and more Israel troops will join the ground operation, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Thursday.

"This operation will continue with additional forces," Gallant said in a statement. "Several tunnels in the area have been destroyed by our forces and more tunnels will be destroyed soon." He said Hamas is unable to "regenerate itself" because it has no reserves, no ability to manufacture weapons, no supplies or ammunition.

Hamas "has no ability to properly treat terrorists who are injured, and this means that we are wearing it down," Gallant said.

Israel, Egypt clash over fate of Rafah border crossing

Egypt has rejected an Israeli proposal for reopening the Rafah border crossing between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip and to manage its future operation, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters. Among concerns: Egypt demands that Palestinians manage the border after Israel's withdrawal. Israel is unwilling to relinquish control amid concerns that Hamas could regain influence in the enclave.

The Rafah crossing had been a main conduit for humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Egypt blames the current border shutdown on the Israeli military operation amid concerns the Sinai will be overwhelmed with refugees fleeing Gaza. Israel says it is willing to open the border for civilians who want to flee the fighting.

The U.N. and international aid agencies say the closures of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings have essentially severed the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israeli war updates: World court told Israel 'must be stopped'