Blinken Blasts Genocide Charges Against Israel As ‘Meritless’ In Middle East Trip

Topline Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed genocide charges against Israel in its war against Hamas as “meritless” in a press conference in Tel Aviv, though he acknowledged “more needs to be done to protect innocent civilians” in both Israel and the Gaza Strip, amid renewed calls for a cease fire as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its fourth month.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken argued a charge from South Africa that Israel has committed ... [+] genocide in Gaza is “meritless,” though he reiterated his concern around the rising death toll in the territory. Key Facts In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Blinken argued a case brought by South Africa in the United Nation’s International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide “distracts the world,” slamming the charge as “meritless,” a claim National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also made last week.

Blinken called the charge “particularly galling” when considering ongoing attacks Israel has withstood from Hamas, as well as Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Iran backed Houthis, that he claimed “continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews”—Israel has also launched airstrikes in Lebanon, killing a senior Hezbollah commander on Monday and a top Hamas official last week.

Blinken also reiterated the Biden administration’s worry about a wider conflict spreading in the Middle East and expressed continued concern over the rising death toll in Gaza, saying that “facing an enemy that embeds itself among civilians, who hides in and fires from schools and hospitals, makes this incredibly challenging, but the daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly on children, is far too high.” His comments come as the Hamas led Gaza Health Ministry says the death toll in Gaza nears 23,000 since Israel declared war on Hamas—which controls the Palestinian enclave—in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct.

7 attack. They also come as U.S. officials seek to soothe tensions in a bid to prevent the war in Gaza from spreading into a regional conflict, particularly as Israel exchanges fire with Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon, a disputed border that experts have warned could become the cause for the conflict to spiral.

Key Background South Africa leveled its accusation against Israel late last month, alleging the Israel Defense Forces’ actions in Gaza are “genocidal in character,” arguing Israeli forces are intending to “destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.” Israel denied the allegations “with disgust,” the Associated Press reported.

South Africa’s claim comes as Israel faces heavy pushback as its war in Gaza continues, with western leaders pushing for a break in the fighting as the death toll in Gaza mounts. Israel and Hamas had agreed to a four day conditional cease fire in November that required Israel to release Palestinian prisoners and Hamas to release hostages it captured in its Oct.

7 attack. While that cease fire was extended two more days, fighting promptly resumed after the last extension expired Tangent In November, South Africa became the latest in a growing list of countries to withdraw its diplomats from Tel Aviv, according to Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ntshavheni said at the time that South African officials were “disappointed by the refusal of the Israeli government to respect international law and the United Nations resolutions with impunity”—human rights experts had said Israel’s strikes in Gaza likely violated international law, while the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in October there is “already clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed.” Further Reading Belize Latest Cutting Diplomatic Ties With Israel — Joining These 8 Other Countries (Forbes) South Africa Accuses Israel Of Genocide In UN Filing (Forbes).