South African Ambassador to Tunisia Siphosezwe Masango

South African Ambassador to Tunisia Siphosezwe Masango speaks outside his nation's Embassy during a demonstration to show solidarity with the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice on January 11, 2024, in the capital city of Tunis.

(Photo: Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Watch Day 2 of the ICJ Gaza Genocide Trial Live

"The scale and atrocities that Israel is visiting upon Gaza are truly shocking," said Oxfam's Middle East director.

After South Africa delivered an "exceptional, overwhelming, and devastating" argument to the International Court of Justice that Israeli forces are engaging in genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Israel is set to deliver its response on Friday.

"Israel has deliberately imposed conditions on Gaza that cannot sustain life and are calculated to bring about its physical destruction," Adila Hassim, a lawyer for South Africa, told the ICJ on Thursday. "Israel has forced—forced—the displacement of about 85% of Palestinians in Gaza. There is nowhere safe for them to flee to."

The second day of proceedings in The Hague, featuring Israel's oral arguments, is scheduled to start at 10:00 am local time (4:00 am ET in the United States), and can be viewed below (or here) via the official ICJ stream provided by the United Nations:

Since Israel declared war in response to a Hamas-led attack on October 7, Israeli bombings and raids have killed at least 23,357 Palestinians in Gaza—or 1% of its 2.3 million residents—according to local officials. That includes more than 10,000 children.

Oxfam highlighted in a statement Thursday that Israeli forces are killing an average of nearly 250 people a day, a rate that exceeds the daily death toll of any other major conflict of recent years.

"The scale and atrocities that Israel is visiting upon Gaza are truly shocking," declared Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's Middle East director. "For 100 days, the people of Gaza have endured a living hell. Nowhere is safe and the entire population is at risk of famine."

"It is unimaginable that the international community is watching the deadliest rate of conflict of the 21st century unfold," she said, "while continuously blocking calls for a cease-fire."

Meanwhile, the United States—which has supported Israel's assault on Gaza—and the United Kingdom bombed Yemen on Thursday as part of the international effort to end Houthi rebel attacks on Red Sea shipping, elevating fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

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