Israel's Netanyahu Defiant after UN Court Ruling as Gaza Offensive Against Hamas Continues

Israel has pushed back after the top United Nations court’s ruling to limit destruction in the military’s Gaza offensive, as its leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that they will “decide and act” according to what is required for their security.

The International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling on Friday stopped short of ordering a cease-fire, but its orders were in part a rebuke of Israel’s conduct in its nearly 4-month war against Hamas. Israel’s military is under increasing scrutiny now that the World Court has asked Israel for a compliance report in a month.

“The state of the Jews arose from the ashes of the Holocaust in order to promise a defensive shield for the Jewish people. Israel, like every sovereign country, has the basic right to defend itself. Nobody will take this right from us and nobody will stop us from implementing it,” Netanyahu said at a televised press conference on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

‘New Nazis’

Netanyahu said that Israel is fighting a war that was forced on the Jewish state by Hamas. “We are fighting a war, the justice of which is unparalleled, with an army, the morality of which is unparalleled. This war was forced on us by an abhorrent enemy, that openly declares its intention to murder all the Jews,” he said.

“On October 7, they murdered, beheaded, raped, and burned infants. If they could have, they would have massacred all of us. If we do not eliminate the Hamas terrorists, these ‘new Nazis’, the next massacre is only a matter of time,” he added. The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, destroyed vast swaths of Gaza and displaced nearly 85% of the territory’s 2.3 million people.

The Hamas attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, and about 250 hostages were taken. Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, saying the militants embed themselves in the local population. Israel says its air and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 9,000 militants.

Targeted raids

Israel’s military said it had conducted several “targeted raids on terror targets” in the southern city of Khan Younis in addition to the airstrike in nearby Rafah targeting a Hamas commander. More than 1 million people have crammed into Rafah and the surrounding areas after Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge there.

The case brought by South Africa to the UN court alleged Israel is committing genocide against Gaza’s people, which Israel vehemently denies. A final ruling is expected to take years. The court ordered Israel to urgently get aid to Gaza, where the UN has said aid entering the territory remains well below the daily average of 500 trucks before the war.

The UN also says access to central and northern Gaza has been decreasing because of “excessive delays” at checkpoints and heightened military activity. The World Health Organization and the medical charity MSF issued urgent warnings about the largest health facility in Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital, saying remaining staff could barely function with supplies running out and intense fighting nearby.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has increasingly called for restraint and for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza while supporting the offensive. More mediation lies ahead in search of a deal to secure the release of hostages who remain captive in Gaza. Over 100 were released in a swap for Palestinian prisoners during a week-long cease-fire in November. An unspecified number of the remaining 136 are believed to be dead.

(With agency inputs)