ISTANBUL

Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Thursday it expects the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will issue a judicial order to immediately halt Israel’s deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Hearings began at ICJ in The Hague on Thursday regarding a lawsuit filed by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

“We hope the court will issue a verdict that serves justice and holds Israeli war criminals accountable,” Hamas member Bassem Naem said in a statement.

South Africa suspended relations with Israel on Nov. 21, in response to its army’s intensified attacks on the Gaza Strip. And later on Dec. 29, it filed a petition with the ICJ to initiate genocidal proceedings against Tel Aviv.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.

At least 23,357 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 59,410 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of the population is food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of the aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio