They argued that seven months into the war, which has killed more than 35,000 people and reduced much of Gaza to rubble, the scale of suffering was now so intense that a total ceasefire was needed to get food, medicine and other aid to its desperate population.
Prof Vaughan Lowe KC told the court that a destructive campaign in Rafah, the last corner of Gaza that has not faced a ground invasion by Israeli forces, would destroy “the foundation of Palestinian life” in the territory.
Israel’s foreign ministry said in response that South Africa was “presenting biased and false claims” which “rely on unreliable Hamas sources” and called on the court to reject the appeal.
The lawyers explained how the attack on Rafah had cut off the two main entry points for humanitarian aid, shut down the crippled remains of the medical system, and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee north into parts of Gaza that were now bombed-out wastelands with little shelter or services.
Tanks sent into the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza on Thursday were attacked with anti-tank rockets and mortars, underlining the challenges faced by Israel despite its advantages in weaponry and control of all land and sea borders.
The US has anchored a temporary floating pier to a beach in north Gaza, and the UN is finalising plans to distribute aid shipped in this way, but it is less efficient and far more expensive than delivering it with vehicles via border crossings controlled by Israel.
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