Türkiye 'very concerned' with reports that Israel's war crimes may amount to genocide

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) – Türkiye is "closely" following South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

"We are very concerned with the reports that Israel's war crimes may amount to genocide, and closely following the hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention," Oncu Keceli said in a statement.

"Israeli occupation, Israeli expansionist mentality and actions that completely ignore human rights, international law, and moral principles have led to the catastrophic situation in Gaza," he said.

"Efforts by members of the Israeli government to divert the attention from the atrocities they perpetrate will not yield any result," Keceli stressed.

On the second day of hearing in The Hague, Israel rejected the accusations brought by South Africa to the ICJ that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 23,708 Palestinians have been killed and 60,005 injured in the Israeli onslaught since then, according to Gaza's health authorities.

The revised death toll in Israel from the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,200.