In part one of this article series, we explained the accusations of genocide South Africa leveled against Israel in January 2024 before the United Nations’ International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. The charge of genocide must include intent, and South Africa, as well as other critics internationally, have accused Israel of intentionally targeting civilians in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas.

In part one, we showed one of the main reasons civilians are being harmed in Gaza and buildings are being destroyed is because Hamas intentionally embeds itself within Gaza’s civilian population, in violation of international law. In this article, we will show, even while Hamas intentionally puts its own citizens in harm’s way, Israel has gone to great lengths to mitigate civilian harm and subvert a humanitarian crisis, revealing the charge of intention to destroy a people group could not be further from the truth.

Israel’s Efforts to Mitigate Civilian Harm

South Africa has made this extraordinary claim: One of the pieces of evidence of Israel’s intent to destroy Gaza’s civilian population is its calls for civilians to evacuate. But international humanitarian law recognizes the evacuation of civilians as one of the measures a state may legally implement to protect civilian life during war. Thus, Israel showed intent to preserve rather than to destroy the civilian population.[1]

Israel has dedicated an entire task force—a civilian harm mitigation unit—who works full time to provide advanced notice to areas in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intends to intensify its activities. Israeli lawyer Galit Rajuan explains,

To date, the IDF has dropped millions of leaflets [in Arabic] over areas of expected attacks with instructions to evacuate and how to do so, broadcast countless messages over radio and through social media, warning civilians to distance themselves from Hamas operations and made over 70,000 individual phone calls, including to occupants of the targets, warning them of impending attacks. This requires time. It requires resources and intelligence, and the IDF invests all of these to save civilian lives.[2]

This task force coordinates and secures travel routes for civilian evacuation and permits localized pauses in its attacks to allow civilians to move safely, all while Hamas makes concerted efforts to attack IDF forces securing these routes and intimidates civilians to remain.[3]

South Africa also claimed Israel showed genocidal intent by granting Gazan civilians only twenty-four hours to evacuate before it began its attacks. But Israel, in fact, gave civilians three weeks to evacuate before it began its ground operations; “three weeks that provided Hamas with advanced knowledge of where and when the IDF would be operating”—all in an effort to protect innocent civilians, Rajuan explained. She further argued:

[South Africa] astonishingly claims that these efforts [of calling for evacuation] are in themselves genocidal. In other words, a measure intended to mitigate harm to the civilian population—sometimes exceeding requirements of international humanitarian law—is proof, according to the applicant, of Israel’s intent to commit genocide, when in fact it proves the exact opposite.[4]

Throughout this war and others, the IDF routinely sacrifices military advantage in exchange for civilian safety, even if this allows the enemy—in this case, Hamas—to know a detailed plan of where and when Israel will attack.

Israel’s Efforts to Prevent a Humanitarian Crisis

In addition to exerting efforts to protect civilians from harm during the Israel-Hamas War, Israel has also gone to great lengths to address humanitarian hardship in Gaza, despite Hamas’ attempts at obstruction.

Israel has assigned a special operational unit, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), to coordinate with international organizations in Gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid and to set up field hospitals in Gaza. COGAT manages a specific mechanism to obtain up-to-date pictures of the needs in Gaza, and works with the United Nations, international organizations, and states to meet these needs.[5]

Closures and Crossings

COGAT also helps to facilitate the crossing of aid into Gaza from its border with Israel. One of the accusations South Africa brought against Israel was Israel closed one of these necessary crossings for aid—the Erez Crossing to northern Gaza. But South Africa failed to mention the reason for its closure was because Hamas attacked the crossing, murdering and kidnapping COGAT staff and causing significant damage to it.[6]

As a result, Israel opened another crossing—the Kerem Shalom border crossing—so aid to Gaza would not be thwarted, even though Hamas has continued to attack and fire at COGAT officials at this crossing as well. Israel has placed no limit on the amount of food, water, shelter, or medical supplies organizations can bring into Gaza. Israel only requires Israeli officials at the crossings to search aid trucks before entrance into Gaza since Hamas has routinely transported weapons under the guise of humanitarian aid.[7]

Since the beginning of the war, 16,850 trucks delivering 312,560 tons of food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment have entered Gaza. In addition, 184 fuel tanks and 346 cooking gas tanks have entered the Strip.[8] At the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana (with Egypt) crossings alone, COGAT staff check 44 trucks per hour at each crossing—much more than what can be picked up by the UN’s distribution staff on the other side. Israel has also opened air and sea distribution. “That’s not to say that there aren’t difficulties in some areas, but that we are doing everything we can to facilitate large amounts of aid,” said a COGAT spokesman. Any shortages in food or aid in Gaza, he emphasized, are because of issues in distribution—the UN failing to distribute aid fast enough after it is cleared—and Hamas’ practice of stealing it.[9]

Hamas Steals Aid

Despite Israel’s extensive efforts to ensure civilians in Gaza receive this aid, Hamas routinely steals it for its own terroristic purposes. Numerous photos and videos have surfaced of Hamas commandeering aid trucks for themselves and attacking civilians in the process.[10] Even UNRWA, on October 16, 2023, posted on X (formerly Twitter) the following tweet: “@UNRWA received reports that yesterday a group of people with trucks purporting to be from the Ministry of Health of the de facto authorities in #Gaza removed fuel and medical equipment from the Agency’s compound in #GazaCity.”[11] It has since been deleted, probably under pressure from Hamas.

Rajuan, in her case before the court, exclaimed,

The charge of genocide, in the face of these extensive efforts, is, frankly, untenable. . . . One of the most significant challenges [in preventing a humanitarian crisis] is the fact that Hamas commandeers consignments into Gaza and controls their distribution. Gazan residents have reported that Hamas is regularly stealing aid at the expense of its own population for the benefit of its fighters.[12]

Establishing Field Hospitals

In addition to facilitating the delivery of aid into Gaza, Israel has also orchestrated the establishment of four field hospitals in Gaza, three floating hospitals, and the entry of new ambulances, all intended to treat wounded Palestinians.[13] And as if Hamas’ stealing of humanitarian aid from civilians for its own purposes was not enough, Hamas has also obstructed Israel’s aid efforts in these hospital relief zones of Khan Yunis and Rafah by firing at IDF soldiers from them, thereby turning them into conflict zones, revealing Hamas’ complete disregard for Gazan civilians and its aim to paint Israel as the villain. Israel has provided ample photographic evidence of Hamas firing from these relief zones.[14]

Rajuan summarized to the court Israel’s extensive efforts to help Gazan civilians and prevent a humanitarian crisis, despite Hamas’ commitment to obstruct these measures:

Even this mere fraction [of evidence] is enough to demonstrate . . . that the allegation of intent to commit genocide is baseless. If Israel had such intent, would it delay a ground maneuver for weeks, urging civilians to seek safer space, and in doing so, sacrificing operational advantage? Would it invest massive resources to provide civilians details about where to go, when to go, how to go, to leave areas of fighting? Would it maintain a dedicated unit staffed with experts whose sole role is to facilitate aid, and who continue to do so, despite having their staff killed and kidnapped?

When a population is ruled by a terrorist organization that cares more about wiping out its neighbor than protecting its own civilians, there are acute challenges in protecting the civilian population. Those challenges are exacerbated by the dynamic and evolving nature of intense hostilities in an urban area, where the enemy exploits hospitals, shelters, and critical infrastructure. Would Israel work continuously with international organizations and states, even reaching out to them on its own initiative, to find solutions to these challenges if it were seeking to destroy the population? Israel’s efforts to mitigate the ravages of this war on civilians are the very opposite of intent to destroy them.[15]

We agree with Rajuan’s conclusion. Time and time again, Israel has gone above and beyond what is required by international law in attempting to prevent civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis. Israel has proven its true intention in this war is not to destroy a civilian population, but to destroy and disarm Hamas, the terrorist group whose sole aim is to annihilate Israel at all costs, even if it means sacrificing its own civilian population.

by Jennifer Miles

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[1] Galit Rajuan, “Israel Defends Itself against Genocide Case Brought to ICJ by South Africa,” DW News, January 12, 2024, educational video, 1:45:27–2:10:48, https://www.youtube.com/live/H6CEKVSjg7o?si=lpzmqg3vsGA2f47K.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Emanuel Fabian, “Israel Shows Major Damage to Erez Crossing with Gaza following Hamas Assault,” Times of Israel, October 17, 2023, https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-shows-major-damage-to-erez-crossing-with-gaza-following-hamas-assault/.

[7] Rajuan, educational video.

[8] “Israel’s Humanitarian Efforts,” Govextra, accessed March 15, 2024, https://govextra.gov.il/cogat/humanitarian-efforts/home/.

[9] “UN human rights chief: Israel’s ‘extensive restrictions’ on Gaza aid may be war crime,” Times of Israel, March 19, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-human-rights-chief-israels-extensive-restrictions-on-gaza-aid-may-be-war-crime/.

[10] Einav Halabi, “IDF Releases Video of Hamas Stealing Aid from Gazans,” Ynetnews, December 9, 2023, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bydb7zgit.

[11] Ari Blaff, “UNWRA Deletes Social-Media Post Accusing Hamas of Stealing Humanitarian Supplies,” National Review, October 16, 2023, https://www.nationalreview.com/news/unwra-deletes-social-media-post-accusing-hamas-of-stealing-humanitarian-supplies/.

[12] Rajuan, educational video.

[13] “Israel’s Humanitarian Efforts.”

[14] See photographic evidence at 1:55:46 in Israel’s defense before the court here.

[15] Rajuan, educational video.