access. lawyers over humanitarian access. lawyers acting for israel will respond at the un top coat to south africa's called to an end to israeli military action in rafah. police in france have shot that a man who tried to set fire to a synagogue. the head of uk firm south west water has apologised for the outbreak of a diarrhoea —type illness in south devon due to a parasite found in the water. lawyers acting for israel will shortly respond at the un's top court to south africa's call for an end to israeli military action in rafah and across gaza. israel has complained that the international court

ofjustice is being exploited by south africa. it says biased and false claims that relied on hamas sources had been presented to the court. it insisted that israel acted in accordance with international law and its humanitarian obligations. south african lawyers told the court in the hague that israel had intended from the beginning to destroy palestinian life. they said palestinians needed protection from genocide. meanwhile, us concern over the amount of aid getting into rafah has been echoed by the un. their aid chief warned that famine is now an immediate threat and that un staff were struggling to help people displaced by the israeli offensive on rafah. the facts on the ground tell us, we don't need to be scientists to see the consequence

of the removal of food. also, forfamine, particularly the removal of medical care and nutritional care, which is the precursor to... famine kills through disease, as well as hunger. the israeli prime minister has doubled down on the importance of a military campaign in rafah. benjamin netanyahu was shown flying over the gaza strip with military officers. his comments come after a very public spat with his defense minister, yoav gallant, over the future of gaza. he was speaking during a visit to soldiers at a military base. translation: the battle for rafah is critical. - it is notjust the rest of their battalions, it is also their oxygen pipes for escape and resupply. this battle, of which you are an integral part, is a battle that decides many things in this campaign. i repeat, we are in a critical battle now. your action helps to end it.

benjamin netanyahu speaking yesterday. while we wait for the hearing to get under way, let us cross to jerusalem hearing to get under way, let us cross tojerusalem and speak to our correspondent danjohnson. much of the talk will be on humanitarian aid and the ability to get it into gaza, we know a new doc has been completed today which should help the situation but the un and the us say it is still not enough. yes. situation but the un and the us say it is still not enough.— it is still not enough. yes, the floatina it is still not enough. yes, the floating jetty _ it is still not enough. yes, the floating jetty has _ it is still not enough. yes, the floating jetty has been - it is still not enough. yes, the - floating jetty has been completed, made operational in the last couple of hours, the first aid deliveries have taken place, reaching the shores of gaza via bigger ships bringing the aid from cyprus, quite a complex structure put in place by the us military. it involves a floating jetty that sticks out into the sea from the shore of gaza. another floating platform the sea from the shore of gaza.

anotherfloating platform offshore where the ships initially dock and the aid is transferred to smaller ships that bring the age ashore and it has started happening in the last two hours. that will be making a contribution to staving off famine for palestinian refugees, to feeding the hungry and closing those who need supplies. it is being stressed at the same time it does not solve gaza's aid problems and the shortage people are facing. the insistence is that crossings, particularly the rafah crossing with egypt, are reopened as soon as possible to enable land routes to reopen for aid convoys which are more effective, more consistent and need to continue, the us and the un say, to make sure refugees get the supplies they need in terms of food, shelter, medical aid, tents and fuel as well to make sure the supplies can be distributed around the refugee population of gaza. so, a

breakthrough, a significant achievement that the us has made with this contribution, stressing at the same time no us military personnel have been put ashore in gaza, but a warning at the same time more needs to be done to reopen land crossings to get more reliable aid supplies into a void widespread famine. . ~ , supplies into a void widespread famine. w , ., supplies into a void widespread famine. , ., , ., ., famine. take us to the situation with the land — famine. take us to the situation with the land crossings, - with the land crossings, particularly focusing on rafah. how long has it been closed? how much would normally come into gaza, how much has been prevented from doing so at the moment? the much has been prevented from doing so at the moment?— much has been prevented from doing so at the moment? the rafah crossing has traditionally _ so at the moment? the rafah crossing has traditionally been _ so at the moment? the rafah crossing has traditionally been the _ so at the moment? the rafah crossing has traditionally been the main - has traditionally been the main route for aid into gaza from egypt but it was closed ten days ago now when the israeli military moved in on the gaza side of the rafah crossing and cleared it. the zone has been occupied by the military, taken over for the last week or more, and it means people have had to flee and the crossing has stayed shut so no aid has been able to get into gaza from that route. there are

other crossings that allow aid in from israel but traditionally they have seen lower volumes and i have been holed there as well as the israeli military are next tighter checks on trucks going into gaza to make sure aid is not being funnelled to hamas and to ensure weapons and other armoury are not being funnelled into gaza through that route. israelare funnelled into gaza through that route. israel are stressing it is —— its operation around rafah has eliminated but needs to continue to eliminated but needs to continue to eliminate hamas battalions holding out there, it's as posing a threat to the idf and civilian population. international partners are warning hundreds of thousands of palestinian refugees who already had been. from homes earlier in the conflict have had to flee from rafah because of intensify military operations there and that will be discussed at the international court ofjustice today when israel puts its defence at its military operation around rafah does not constitute a genocidal act but

is focused on eliminating hamas. figs is focused on eliminating hamas. as you are speaking, we're watching pictures of the judges taking their seats the icj at the hay and we know israel is due to present its case after south africa did so yesterday —— at the hague. after south africa did so yesterday -- at the hague-— -- at the hague. yes, this was an emergency _ -- at the hague. yes, this was an emergency session _ -- at the hague. yes, this was an emergency session that _ -- at the hague. yes, this was an emergency session that was - -- at the hague. yes, this was an i emergency session that was brought about by south africa's application to build on the case it had already presented earlier this year, accusing as well of genocide against the palestinian people. south africa was given two hours yesterday to make its case for why it thinks the military operation specifically around rafah is genocidal, that is of course something that israel denies and the israeli side will have two hours today to present its argument for why it believes the operation it is conducting around rafah is not targeted at the palestinian people but focused on eradicating the remaining four hamas battalions in the area. there are

also, the israelis say, hamas tunnels in the area running between gaza and egypt used to smuggle in weapons and supplies directly to hamas. that is the focus of israel's military operation which it says will continue.— will continue. dan johnson in jerusalem. _ will continue. dan johnson in jerusalem, thank _ will continue. dan johnson in jerusalem, thank you. - will continue. dan johnson in jerusalem, thank you. let i will continue. dan johnson in j jerusalem, thank you. let us will continue. dan johnson in - jerusalem, thank you. let us listen jerusalem, thank you. let us listen in to proceedings at the international court ofjustice in the hague. international court ofjustice in the hague-— international court ofjustice in thehauue. , ,, , the hague. this case, even by its very name. _ the hague. this case, even by its very name. the — the hague. this case, even by its very name, the application - the hague. this case, even by its very name, the application of- the hague. this case, even by its very name, the application of the| very name, the application of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide in the gaza strip, suggests an inversion of reality. it has given rise to south africa's egregious and repeated efforts to bring israel before this code through the obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention —— before this court. south africa presents the court yet again for the... in the scope of

less than five months with a picture thatis less than five months with a picture that is completely divorced from the facts and circumstances. israel is engaged in a difficult and tragic armed conflict. south africa ignores this factual context which is essential in order to comprehend the situation. and also ignores the applicable legal framework of international humanitarian law. it makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide. as israel has previously stated before this court, when dealing with the law, facts matter, truth should matter, words must retain their meaning. calling something a genocide again and again does not make it genocide. repeating

a lie does not make it true. here in the peace palace, it cannot be otherwise. mr president, israel received notification of this hearing on monday, less than four days ago. while it was observing a particularly painful national remembrance day. this notification came as a great surprise because the court had already invited israel to submit its observations on south africa's request in writing by wednesday of this week. israel was preparing its written observations when the court suddenly announced it would hold an oral hearing instead. in seeking to accommodate the quote's decision, israel immediately

reached out to its legal team so as to guarantee it could properly be represented by council. that proved impossible. israel's lead counsel... other counsel like was unable to come to the hague on such short notice. forthis come to the hague on such short notice. for this reason israel wrote to the court in good faith asking the hearing be rescheduled to next week. it explained the dates fixed by the court significantly impacted israel's ability to be sufficiently well represented and the fundamental principle of equality of arms. israel's request was rejected. the date of this hearing remained at which south africa had expressly requested. the regrettable result is that israel is not represented today by its chosen team of counsel and

advocates. the equality of the parties and the administration of justice have been severely undermined. out of respect for this court, the same respect israel has shown through all of this past several months, israel's co—agents have... south africa's complaint yesterday israel has failed to respond to its current request is therefore wholly unfounded. israel expects the court will appreciate the predicament israel has been placed in. this is all the more so given south africa yesterday quite radically changed the terms of its requested provisional measures which israel has been given less than 2a hours to respond to. mr president, members of the court, bearing all of that in mind, allow me to recall

four basic facts south africa continues to conceal. it is highly regrettable to say the least that these basic facts must once again be stated in this great hall. first, israel is engaged in a war it did not want and did not start. it is under attack and fighting to defend itself and its citizens. since the horrific onslaught that began on the 7th of october 2023, which saw thousands of israeli citizens brutally slaughtered, mutilated, raped and injured, and 254 women, men and children taken hostage into gaza, hamas and other terrorist organisations in gaza continued to

attack israel, including by indiscriminate rocket fire into israeli cities and towns. they have vowed to try to repeat the atrocities of the 7th of october many times over. since the beginning of the hostilities, more than 10,000 rockets have been fired from the gaza strip towards israel with the aim of killing as many israelis as possible. the last two weeks alone so 278 rockets launched. damage of an unprecedented scale has been caused to israeli civilian homes and infrastructure. with entire communities destroyed. approximately 60,000 residents of towns in southern israel remain displaced from their homes seven months on. it may be years before they are able to

return to their homes and rebuild their communities. sirens continue to go off across the country as rockets, missiles and drones are launched against israel from several fronts. rafah in particular is a focal point for ongoing terrorist activity. it is a stronghold for hamas's operatives were several battalions belonging to the rafah brigades entrenched in the area. also present in rafah is an intricate underground tunnel infrastructure that runs underneath the city and provides ample space for operatives, command and control rooms and military equipment. nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in rafah, reaching approximately 50 tunnels crossing

into egypt. these tunnels are used by hamas to supply itself with weapons and ammunition. it could potentially be used to smuggle out of gaza hostages or hamas senior operators. since the start of the present hostilities, more than 1400 rockets were fired from rafah alone, including more than 120 in the last two weeks. approximately 600 launch sites were identified in the rafah area, many of which hidden within or in close proximity to civilian infrastructure. information regarding rocket launchers from rafah in the current conflict can be found in tap one of yourjudges folder. —— tab one. israeli hostages

are also being held in rafah by their captors. in fact, are also being held in rafah by their captors. infact, israeli forces managed to rescue two israeli hostages from rafah on the 11th of february 2024. i recall south africa filed their request with this court the next day for provisional measures that would prevent israel from taking military action in rafah and this request was rightfully denied. south africa purports to describe rafa as the last refuge for civilians in gaza. while many civilians in gaza. while many civilians have indeed evacuated to rafah over the past few months, the fact remains the city of rafah also serves as a military stronghold for hamas which continues to pose a

significant threat to the state of israel and its citizens. in tab two of your folders, a israel and its citizens. in tab two of yourfolders, a map israel and its citizens. in tab two of your folders, a map showing locations of rocket sites, panel shafts and command and control sites embedded in the civilian population in rafah —— tunnel shafts. south africa warns this court that, i quote, if rafah falls, so too does gaza. once again, however, the reality is exactly the opposite. only by bringing down hamas military stronghold in rafah will palestinians be liberated from the grip of the murderous terrorist regime and the road to peace and prosperity may finally be paved. the reality is that any state put in israel's difficult position would do

the same. the right of defence against brutality of the hamas terrorist organisation cannot be in doubt. it is an inherent right afforded to israel, as it is to any state. israel is committed, as it must be, to realising this right in accordance with the law. which is why it has worked diligently to enable the protection of civilians, even as hamas seeks deliberately to endanger them. to deny israel this basic right would be to suggest, shockingly, that the most fundamental right afforded to all states should be withheld from one. this is an unthinkable outcome that would tell israeli citizens and the hostages that they are not deserving of protection, of life itself, and

tells the israeli state it will be treated unequally in a manner that is at odds with the most basic of legal principles. israel is acutely aware of the large number of civilians that are concentrated in rafah. it is also acutely aware of hamas's efforts to use these civilians as a shield. that is why the battalions are present there. that is why the rockets are there. that is why the rockets are there. that is why hostages are there. we do not wish harm to the civilians, as hamas does. that is precisely why israel is taking steps to try and contend with the massive complexity that such a situation presents. that is why there has not been a large scale assault on rafah. but rather specific, limited and localised

operations, pre—faced with evacuation efforts and support for humanitarian activities. israel faces complex operational challenges in gaza certainly. but can we imagine a situation where a state does not take military action to protect civilians when they are under fire? protect civilians when they are underfire? can we imagine a court of law telling a state the law prevents it from defending itself from attack? this is simply untenable. when i last stood at this podium injanuary, israeli hostages had been in captivity for almost 100 days. at the time, this seemed inconceivable. yet the hostages have now been in captivity for over seven

months. more than 130 children, women and men, including the sick and elderly, have now been held in gaza for 224 days. incommunicado and in inhumane conditions. among them is a 23—year—old, abducted from the nova music festival, severely injured. 0n the 25th of april, 2024, hamas released a video. in it, he is seen with an amputated arm blown off by hamas terrorists. he is alive. he needs medical treatment. at least 36

of those taken hostage on the 7th of october have been confirmed dead and their bodies are still held in the gaza strip. among them, a 53—year—old father of three, and 38—year—old, both of them kidnapped from their homes in bayreuth converts. injanuary from their homes in bayreuth converts. in january 2024... from their homes in bayreuth converts. injanuary 2024... if from their homes in bayreuth converts. in january 2024. .. if you would like — converts. in january 2024. .. if you would like to — converts. in january 2024. .. if you would like to carry _ converts. in january 2024. .. if you would like to carry on _ converts. in january 2024. .. if you would like to carry on watching - converts. in january 2024. .. if you | would like to carry on watching the proceedings live, tune into the abc news website, you can see the ways to do that on the screen. i want to cross to our correspondent at the hague. just to take us through the key points of what we have been hearing over the last 20 minutes. we are hearing over the last 20 minutes. , are getting a picture of the complexity of the case facing the judges here at the un's highest court. israel has described south

africa's case as an inversion of reality, a picture divorced from the facts. just to remind you briefly what israel is responding to today, yesterday south africa had two hours in court to present its case. it said it was compelled to return to the icj with a request for an urgent intervention as a result of what it described as the continuing annihilation of palestinians in gaza. south africa's lawyers said institutionalised impunity had emboldened israel to ignore previous orders given by this court. you might be up to him in the background today, there are a group of israeli supporters waving flags outside the court and they have a big screen showing some of the images of the hostages and israel is arguing court today this is one of the reasons why the military operation isjustified. south africa says if this court does not intervene too, for example, call a ceasefire, order israel to withdraw from rafah, it does not only risk the destruction of the

palestinians in gaza but removes any chance to actually rebuild gaza itself. this is what the judges are looking at, israel has another one and a half hours to continue presenting its side. given the urgency with which the icj is dealing with this case, we would expect some form of decision next week or the week after. south africa has asked the court order israel to withdraw from rafah, call a ceasefire, to allow humanitarian aid workers and investigators access and journalists so if any crimes violating the genocide convention committed, the evidence is gathered and preserved. tote committed, the evidence is gathered and preserved-— committed, the evidence is gathered and preserved. we are of time, thank ou. sta and preserved. we are of time, thank you- stay with — and preserved. we are of time, thank you- stay with us _ and preserved. we are of time, thank you. stay with us on _ and preserved. we are of time, thank you. stay with us on bbc— and preserved. we are of time, thank you. stay with us on bbc news. - by by exploiting the genocide convention, south africa is

suggesting a convoluted reading of international law under which any armed conflict could be brought before the court. it seeks once again to obtain provisional measures that would bind only israel and not its adversary. the absurd result would be that israel would be denied its inherent right to defend itself. hamas for its part would remain free to continue committing its horrific crimes. the purpose of the genocide convention is not to have the court supervised the conduct of armed hostilities by parties to the conflict by the assertion of the genocide, ratherthe conflict by the assertion of the genocide, rather the convention and subsequently this court's jurisdiction is limited to the grave crime of genocide. i am compelled to restate once again that there is a tragic war going on but there is no genocide. yet particularly at the

provisional measures stage when the evidential threshold is such that the applicant is not required to provide proof of its allegations or the existence of specific intent to commit genocide, there is a danger that the court will find itself engaged in the micromanagement of operational aspects of an armed conflict. this is what south africa has been asking the court to do. a judge won precisely of this danger when the court handed out its decision on south africa's third request for provisional measures. he observed that, quote, the court has accepted south africa's invitation to become the micromanager of an armed conflict and used the genocide convention as an excuse to rule on the basis of international humanitarian law. managing an armed conflict under the genocide convention is a dangerous endeavour,

especially when one of the belligerence is not a party to the convention. this remains true when considering south africa's fourth request. mr president, members of the court, this brings me to the third basic fact that must not be ignored. south africa purports to come before you yet again as a guardian of humanity. in fact, it has a clear ulterior motive when it asks you to order israel to stay away from rafah and to withdraw all its troops from gaza. it does so in order to obtain military advantage for its ally hamas. it does not wish to see it defeated. it is this reason south africa continues to abuse the genocide convention, this

court and the procedure for provisional measures. just six days ago, on the 11th of may 2024, only a day after it submitted the present request for additional provisional measures, south africa hosted a hamas delegation injohannesburg. hamas delegation in johannesburg. south hamas delegation injohannesburg. south africa's foreign minister herself met with hamas representatives. they did not use the meeting to urge hamas to release hostages. to stop targeting israeli civilians. to cease using human shields. to cease operating from within and nearby hospitals, un facilities and other protected sites... studio: you are watching bbc news, these are live pictures coming from these are live pictures coming from the international court ofjustice in the hague were lawyers acting for israel are responding to south

africa's call for an end to israeli military action in rafah and across gaza. ., , , ., ., gaza. nor is it interested in law or 'ustice. gaza. nor is it interested in law or justice- once _ gaza. nor is it interested in law or justice. once again, _ gaza. nor is it interested in law or justice. once again, it— gaza. nor is it interested in law or justice. once again, it is— justice. once again, it is exploiting the court and its authority to issue provisional measures. it is in no rush to reach the merits of this case when it will have to substantiate its baseless claims with evidence that simply does not exist. israel for its part has shown nothing but respect for the judicial process. as the court will recall, on the 28th of april 2024 israel provided the court with a lengthy report detailing interrailing the numerous steps that israel actively and effectively had taken to address the humanitarian situation in the gaza strip consistent with the

court's previous orders.