In this explainer, we offer a comprehensive breakdown, offering essential insights ahead of this weekend’s crucial discussion.

Why send an Israeli judge to the hearing? In such international legal settings, countries involved – either as plaintiffs or defendants – have the prerogative to appoint a judge to the panel. This panel, inclusive of fifteen judges from various global nations, will now include Israel’s former Supreme Court President, Aharon Barak.

The Israeli defense team

Joining Barak is Prof. Malcolm Shaw, a 76-year-old British lawyer. In addition, in Israel’s defense are two notable figures: Gilad Noam, Deputy International Chief Prosecutor and Tal Baker, Chief Prosecutor of the Foreign Ministry.

Why Aharon Barak? His selection comes due to his esteemed stature as one of Israel’s most prominent judges. His judicial tenure, especially in the Supreme Court, is marked by significant rulings on security and the IDF. Moreover, Barak’s legal writings and rulings are internationally respected, particularly in human rights – a crucial focus of the court.

Barak was preferred over Dorit Beinisch, his successor as Supreme Court President, and other proposed candidates. These nominations were part of a meticulous process led by a legal team tasked with determining Israel’s representatives at The Hague. Ultimately, Barak’s nomination, strongly recommended by many, was endorsed by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

How does the ICJ operate and make rulings?

The International Court of Justice functions with a bench of 15 judges from different countries, ensuring diverse legal perspectives. Chosen by the UN’s General Assembly and Security Council, these judges serve nine-year terms.

Every three years, elections refresh five of these positions. This structure not only reflects the continental legal system of Europe but also accommodates the common law traditions of the United States, Britain, Canada, India, and Israel, alongside other legal systems.

The court’s proceedings mirror those of conventional courts. Hearings commence following a state’s formal complaint submission, detailing the petition’s rationale and its request for adjudication. The defendant state is then required to respond and challenge the claims.

The upcoming hearing, a matter of significant international interest, will be accessible via live broadcast on the UN’s internet television channel.

There was a direct connection between the timing of the announcement and the IDF’s penetration and taking over of a large strategic tunnel in the Daraj Tuffah area of northern Gaza in recent days.

As part of the operation, the IDF brought in experts to analyze the long-range and precision rockets and other items it found there.

The IDF declined to specify exactly what signs there were of Iranian training and guidance in the manufacturing and firing of the weapons, but in the past, some weapons have had Iranian signs or Persian words on them.

In other instances, there have been guidebooks or messages recovered from electronic devices with connections to the Islamic Republic.

Though Hamas is an independent entity, Israeli intelligence has said for years that the terror group could not have pulled off the October 7 surprise attack or reached the level of its current fighting prowess without general funding, logistics support, and training from Tehran.

However, such statements are often made in a general manner, and Sunday’s findings were more direct evidence than usual of the ayatollahs’ involvement.

These various weapons systems were found only after traversing 100 meters of tunnel space in an area that itself had been identified by Israeli intelligence as requiring deeper investigation.

Those Hamas forces guarding the area also put up a more significant fight, including face-to-face clashes, than the terror group is often putting up in other areas, where its tactics tend to be sudden hit and runs popping out of tunnel shafts and fleeing back to those shafts.

Drones and helicopters were critical to assisting IDF Nahal land forces during the battle.

Hamas’s last stronghold in northern Gaza falls

Daraj Tuffah was viewed by the IDF as the last stronghold of Hamas in northern Gaza after the fall of Jablia on December 19 and the fall of most of Gaza City in mid-November.

Nahal Commander Col. Yair Zuckerman said, “We are in Daraj Tuffah along with our integrated battle teams. In recent days, we encountered the enemy, many cells, [terror] infrastructure and boobytraps…we found defensive tunnels and rocket firing platforms, from right here,” signaling where he was standing.

Zuckerman was appointed to lead Nahal forces on October 7 after its pre-war commander, Col. Jonathan Steinberg, was killed on his way to try to rescue Israelis in the South under invasion by Hamas.

The invasion of Daraj Tuffah was broken down roughly into two stages over around two weeks of fighting.

In the first 4-7 days, the fighting was the heaviest, with much more organized attacks by Hamas forces.

During the second stage, Hamas terrorists still mounted a significant challenge but started fighting more using hit-and-run tactics from underground areas.

Over Friday and Saturday, the IDF took out an area where Hamas had set up 30 platforms for firing rockets and from where it had even fired rockets on Ashkelon and toward Ashdod in recent days.