LONDON
At the hearing in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where South Africa’s plea for additional measures against Israel was discussed, a photograph taken by an Anadolu photojournalist in Khan Younis was featured on Thursday.
During the first day of the two-day hearings at the ICJ based in The Hague, the South African side delivered its presentation.
During the hearings, Adila Hassim, one of the attorneys representing South Africa, featured a photograph taken by Anadolu photojournalist Ali Jadallah in Khan Yunis, depicting the devastation left behind by Israel’s actions.
Hassim stated that the photograph indicated that Palestinians began returning to their homes after Israel ended its occupation in Khan Younis last month.
“As we all can see, there is nothing left behind. The recent actions by Israel in Rafah horrifically expose their coordinated plan aimed at destroying the very foundations of Palestinian lives in Gaza,” she said.
The photograph captured by Anadolu depicted Khan Younis in an unrecognizable state, showing the massive destruction.
In the photograph, the streets and avenues of Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip where Israel’s action was captured, were unrecognizably devastated.
The photograph also revealed that weeks of ongoing Israeli bombardment had reduced the buildings in the city to rubble and ash, with roads destroyed both by bulldozers and airstrikes.
It also showed that some Palestinian residents had begun returning to their homes in the area.
Israel continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.
More than 35,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 79,200 others injured since last October following a Hamas attack.
More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
