Israel has responded to a lawsuit against it at the International Court of Justice, saying its military offensive in the Gaza Strip is justified. South Africa, which filed the suit, claims the offensive amounts to genocide against Palestinians.

The hearings of the case entered the second day at the court in the Dutch city of The Hague on Friday.

Israel argued that its military operations are defensive measures to protect itself from Hamas.

South Africa has demanded the court order Israel to immediately halt its military operations as a temporary measure to protect Palestinians. Some media reports say the court is expected to rule on this request as early as this month.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Friday that its forces had killed about 20 Hamas fighters in Maghazi, central Gaza.

It also said an Israeli airstrike targeting a Hamas military building in the southern city of Khan Younis killed seven Hamas members, including a fighter involved in the October attack on Israel.

Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera has reported that nine Palestinians, including children and at least one baby, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home in the southern city of Rafah.

Health authorities in Gaza said on Thursday that 112 people had died over the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 23,469 since the conflict began.