TEL AVIV - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Jan 9 the United States believes South Africa’s genocide charge against Israel is “meritless”, but the daily toll of war on civilians in Gaza is far too high.

He made the comment at a press conference after talks in Tel Aviv with Israeli leaders.

Mr Blinken said Palestinians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow and cited an agreement on a plan for the United Nations to carry out an assessment mission in Gaza.

He said the US rejected any proposals advocating a resettlement of Palestinians outside Gaza and stressed that the Palestinian authority has responsibility to reform itself.

Mr Blinken, who visited several other countries in the Middle East this week, also said many countries in the Middle East are ready to invest in the future of Gaza, but only with a clear pathway to a Palestinian state.

‘Atrocious and preposterous’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Jan 9 that “there is nothing more atrocious and preposterous” than a lawsuit filed in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in its Gaza offensive.

The case, brought by South Africa, is due to begin hearings on Jan 10 and focuses on the many civilians among the more than 23,000 people that Gaza health authorities say have been killed in the more than three-month-old war between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking to visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Mr Herzog accused South Africa of hypocrisy for bringing the case, and thanked Washington for its support of Israel, which says it makes utmost efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.

“Actually our enemies Hamas, in their charter, call for the destruction of our nation, the State of Israel – the only nation-state of the Jewish people,” Mr Herzog said.

In a 2017 document, Hamas dropped its longstanding call for Israel’s destruction, but said it still rejected the country’s right to exist and backed armed struggle against it.

“We will be there at the International Court of Justice and will present proudly our case of using self-defence under our most inherent right under international humanitarian law,” said Mr Herzog.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fighters carried out an Oct 7 attack in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted.

Since then, Israeli forces have laid much of the enclave to waste, and nearly all its 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

In making its case, South Africa names Mr Herzog and other Israeli officials it says have expressed genocidal intent against Palestinians.

It cites remarks made by the president days after the Hamas attack, in which he said it was not only militants but “an entire nation” that was responsible for the violence and that Israel will fight “until we break their backbone”.

Israel’s attorney-general and state attorney released a statement late on Jan 9 saying Israel and its security forces were “all committed to act in accordance with international law, including the law of armed conflict”.

It said statements calling for intentional harm to civilians may amount to a criminal offence and that Israeli law enforcement authorities were examining several such cases.

Israel blames Hamas, which has ruled blockaded Gaza since 2007, for harm to civilians there by operating among them, which the fighters deny. It insists it will press ahead until Hamas is dismantled and 132 remaining hostages recovered.

Israel must win, Mr Herzog said, “because it’s a war that affects international values and the values of the free world”.

As at Jan 9, the Israeli military said 182 soldiers had been killed in Gaza fighting. REUTERS