The International Court of Justice has opened hearings in a case filed by South Africa, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The hearings began on Thursday at the ICJ, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, in the Dutch city of The Hague.

South Africa declares that Israel's military offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide against Palestinians.

It also asserts that Israel has violated the Genocide Convention, which obliges parties to it not to commit, prevent and punish genocide. The treaty defined genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Both South Africa and Israel are signatories of the convention.

South Africa also calls for provisional measures to protect the lives of Palestinians. It asks the world court to order an immediate suspension of Israel's military offensive in Gaza and stop Israel from causing casualties in Gaza or forcing people there to move to other places.

South Africa is scheduled to explain on Thursday why it put forward the case, and Israel is expected to defend the country's acts on Friday.

A judgment delivered by the ICJ is binding on the parties concerned. The court is likely to hand down its judgment on provisional measures within several weeks at the earliest.

The Palestinian Islamic group Hamas welcomed the opening of hearings at the ICJ in a social media post on Thursday.

The group said that it looks forward to the court issuing a decision that provides justice to victims by calling a stop to the aggression and holding war criminals accountable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message on Wednesday, "Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population."

He also said, "Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law."

The Israeli military engaged in air and ground offensives in Maghazi in the central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south. Israeli forces claimed they have killed Hamas fighters who used a school as a base of terrorism.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday that an Israeli attack hit an ambulance transporting patients with injuries, killing six people including emergency staff.

Health officials in Gaza say a total of 23,357 people have been killed since the conflict began.