Pro-Palestinian protests held in The Hague amid ICJ genocide hearing against Israel

Pro-Palestinian protesters rallied in front of the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Thursday ahead of hearings on whether Israel's military actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

South Africa has asked the United Nations' highest court to consider Israel's actions in light of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, drawn up in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust.

The case starting Thursday will likely last for years.

The convention defines genocide as acts such as killings "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group."

South Africa's 84-page filing says Israel's actions "are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part" of the Palestinians in Gaza.