Live updates | UN top court hears genocide allegation as Israel focuses fighting in central Gaza

The United Nations’ top court began hearings Thursday for South Africa’s allegation that Israel’s war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians. Israel strongly denies the claim. Although the case is likely to take years to resolve, South Africa is asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military operations in Gaza have lately focused on the southern city of Khan Younis and urban refugee camps in the territory’s center. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent days in strikes across the territory, including in areas of the far south where Israel told people to seek refuge.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been meeting with leaders across the Mideast, seeking to rally the region behind postwar plans for Gaza. Blinken spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday about a reformed Palestinian Authority governing Gaza once the war is over. Blinken then flew to Manama, the capital of the tiny Gulf nation of Bahrain.

The Oct. 7 Hamas attack from Gaza into southern Israel that triggered the war killed around 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage by militants. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Currently:

— The U.N.'s top court opens hearings on South Africa’s allegation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

— Blinken seeks Palestinian governance reform for postwar Gaza.

— The Israeli military says it found traces of hostages in an underground tunnel in Gaza.

— Nelson Mandela’s support for Palestinians endures with South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.

— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Here’s what’s happening in the war:

LAWYER FOR SOUTH AFRICA TELLS THE WORLD COURT THAT PALESTINIANS HAVE NOWHERE SAFE TO GO

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A lawyer representing South Africa’s legal team says Palestinians under Israeli bombardment have nowhere safe to go.

In her address Thursday to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Adila Hassim said Palestinians in Gaza “are killed in their homes in places where they seek shelter, in hospitals, in schools or in mosques, in churches.” She said Palestinians have been killed if they did not follow Israeli orders to evacuate, but also if they evacuated to Israeli-designated safe corridors.

“The level of killing is so extensive that those whose bodies are found buried in mass graves often unidentified,” Hassim said.

South Africa is trying to prove to the court that Israel is committing genocide in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegation, saying it is battling militants in a war of self-defense after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack.

TOP UN COURT OPENS HEARINGS ON SOUTH AFRICA ACCUSING ISRAEL OF GENOCIDE IN GAZA

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Judges filed solemnly into the International Court of Justice on Thursday to hear two days of legal arguments in a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in its Gaza war. Israel rejects the allegation.

Lawyers for South Africa will ask judges at Thursday’s hearings to impose binding preliminary orders on Israel, including an immediate halt to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Ahead of the proceedings, hundreds of pro-Israeli protesters marched close to the courthouse with banners saying “Bring them home,” referring to the hostages still held by Hamas. Among the crowds, people were holding Israeli and Dutch flags.

Outside the court, others were protesting and waving the Palestinian flag in support of South Africa’s move.

GENOCIDE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ISRAEL ARE UNFOUNDED, US STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON SAYS

TEL AVIV, Israel — State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says accusations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are unfounded, hours before the International Court of Justice in The Hague begins to hear South Africa’s case against Israel.

Miller said late Wednesday that the court “plays a vital role in the peaceful settlement of disputes,” but he said Israel had the right to defend itself and said it was Israel’s enemies who were calling for the “mass murder of Jews.”

Miller reiterated the United States’ support for Israel in its war while calling for more ways to protect civilians, and for Israel to abide by international humanitarian law. He also condemned inflammatory rhetoric on all sides.

In its court filing, South Africa cited incendiary remarks from Israeli leaders and military officials as an indication of intent to commit genocide.

PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST DESCRIBES BEING DETAINED BY THE ISRAELI MILITARY AS THE ‘WORST 33 DAYS OF MY LIFE’

BEIRUT — A Palestinian journalist who was detained by the Israeli military in Gaza in December described the experience as the “worst 33 days of my life.” Diaa al-Kahlout, a reporter for the Arabic-language Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said in an interview Thursday with his network that he was detained with around 100 men, including several relatives, who were sheltering in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

He says the soldiers accused them of being members of Hamas and forced them to strip to their underwear. He says he was questioned about an article he wrote in 2018 about a botched Israeli military operation in Gaza, calling it a “distressing experience.” Those detained included boys as young as 16 and a 77-year-old man apparently suffering from dementia, according to al-Kahlout. He says they were held at the Zikim military base north of Gaza and were forced to sit “on their knees” for the first 25 days.

The Israeli military was looking into the allegation and had no immediate comment.

The Israeli military says it has detained and interrogated hundreds of people it suspects of links to Hamas, which triggered the war in Gaza with its Oct. 7 rampage into Israel. Several detainees have said after their release that they were denied food and water and subjected to beatings and other abuse. The military has denied allegations of mistreatment.