Over at the International Court of Justice, Israel’s lawyer Gilad Noam has argued that all provisional measures sought by South Africa are without merit, Al Jazeera reports.

Specifically, he argues Israel should not be ordered to withdraw from Gaza because that would mean:

• More than 100 Israeli captives will remain trapped in the territory
• Hamas will be left to operate unhindered
• Such an order would strip Israel of its rights under international law
• The court would be turning the Genocide Convention “into a sword rather than a shield”.

Follow Al Jazeera’s live coverage of the ICJ proceedings here.