At least 23,469 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive: Hamas (File) The Hague, Netherlands: Israel said Friday it was not seeking to destroy the Palestinian people, as it hit back at what it called a “profoundly distorted” and “malevolent” genocide case against it at the UN’s top court. South Africa has launched an emergency case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) arguing that Israel stands in breach of the UN Genocide Convention, signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust. Pretoria wants judges to force Israel to “immediately” stop the Gaza campaign launched after the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. At least 23,469 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Tal Becker, a top lawyer representing Israel, said South Africa had “regrettably put before the court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture.” Using videos and pictures, Becker painted a graphic image of the horrors of the October 7 attacks …