TEL AVIV, January 13. /TASS/. Israel will continue to fight Hamas until victory despite pressure from the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"It has been 100 days today since that terrible day when our citizens were killed and kidnapped. We will continue the war to the end - to total victory - until we achieve all our goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return home of all hostages and guarantees that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel," he said at a news conference. "We will restore security both in the south and in the north. No one will stop us - not the [International Court of Justice in] The Hague, not the 'axis of evil,' no one else."
"The State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli security forces are waging a moral and just war against the Hamas monsters," the prime minister went on to say. "Citizens of Israel, we are on the path to victory and we will not stop until we achieve victory."
"I say this on your behalf to all the world leaders with whom I speak: We will not compromise and we will not stop," Netanyahu said. "Israel has no other choice."
South African lawsuit
South Africa filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice in The Hague over a possible violation by Israel of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The lawsuit argues that Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip can be described as genocide because they are carried out with the specific intent "to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group." As part of the lawsuit, South African is seeking a court ruling that Israel is in breach of its obligations under the convention and must cease all hostilities in the Gaza Strip as well as pay reparations.
Israel rejected the allegations, accusing South Africa of hypocrisy, and motioned for the court to dismiss the case. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz asserted that South Africa itself violates the Genocide Convention by supporting Hamas, which Israel had designated as a terrorist organization and is currently targeting in its military operation in Gaza.
October 7 attack
The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas has cast the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. Israel also strikes parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for bombardments originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.