Blinken said the case before the International Court of Justice was a distraction from efforts to stop the war between Israel and Hamas.
“It is particularly disgusting, given that those who attack Israel – Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, as well as Iran, which supports them – continue to call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.”
South Africa filed the case against Israel last month, accusing it of intent to “destroy the Palestinians in Gaza,” and asked the UN's highest court, the International Court of Justice, to order Israel to stop its attacks. Israel rejected South Africa's genocide claims with “disgust” and said it would defend itself in court.
South Africa appointed former British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn as part of its delegation to The Hague to attend the hearings that begin Thursday. Israel is sending top legal minds, including a Holocaust survivor, to confront allegations of genocide.
A woman takes photos of a burned and damaged car used by senior Hezbollah leader Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed on Monday in the village of Khirbet Selm in southern Lebanon.credit: AP
Blinken said he received promises from four Arab countries and Turkey to help rebuild Gaza after the war. But those countries also wanted to see an end to the fighting in Gaza and take concrete steps toward the eventual creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to prevent.
The United States and Israel also remain deeply divided over how Gaza will be managed when – and if – the current Hamas rulers are defeated. American officials called on the Palestinian Authority, which currently rules parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to take control of Gaza.
Israeli leaders have rejected this idea, but have not put forward a concrete plan beyond saying they will maintain open military control over the area.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog shake hands.credit: AP
At the same time, Blinken is trying to prevent an all-out war between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah. After an Israeli raid hit Beirut last week and led to the killing of the deputy leader of Hamas, the two sides intensified their exchanges.
“There is a lot to talk about, especially regarding the way forward,” Blinken said after his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Earlier, Hezbollah said its explosive drones targeted the IDF's Northern Command in the town of Safed – deeper into Israel than previous fires launched by the group. The Israeli military said a drone fell on a base in the north without causing damage, indicating it had been intercepted. Military officials did not specify the base.
The United States has pressured Israel to reduce its offensive in Gaza to more precise operations targeting Hamas. But the pace of death and destruction has remained largely the same, with several hundred Palestinians being killed every day, according to Gaza health officials.
An Israeli soldier stands in an honor guard ceremony during the funeral of an Israeli soldier killed in southern Gaza.credit: GT
Israel has vowed to continue moving until Hamas is destroyed throughout the territory, in response to the attack on October 7, when the militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in southern Israel and kidnapped about 250 others.
However, after three months of fighting, Hamas continues to fight a fierce battle.
The Israeli military says it has dismantled Hamas' infrastructure in northern Gaza, demolishing large areas of the cityscape. But fighting continues there against what Israel says are militant enclaves. The focus of the attack shifted to the southern city of Khan Yunis and a number of urban refugee camps in central Gaza.
“It is particularly disgusting, given that those who attack Israel… continue to call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discusses South Africa's genocide case against Israel
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “The fighting will continue throughout 2024.”
Since the war began, the Israeli assault on Gaza has killed more than 23,200 Palestinians, roughly 1% of the Strip's population, and injured more than 58,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
About two-thirds of those killed were women and children. The number of deaths does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
AP
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