Nicaragua’s case is the latest legal bid to stop Israel’s war on Gaza. Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the court. The cases come as Israel's allies face growing calls to stop supplying it with weapons, and as some including Germany have grown more critical of the war.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel must still do more to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.

At hearings early this month, Nicaragua’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Carlos José Argüello Gómez told the 16-judge panel that “Germany is failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law.”

Nicaragua also wants Germany to reinstate direct funding to the U.N. aid agency in Gaza.

The head of Germany’s legal team, Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, said Nicaragua’s claims “ have no basis in fact or law."

Israel strongly denies that its assault on Gaza amounts to genocidal acts, claiming it is acting in self-defence.

Since Israel launched its offensive, more than 34,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. Women and children make up the majority of the dead.

The Israeli army says it has killed over 12,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Germany has for decades been a staunch supporter of Israel.

In the case brought by South Africa, the ICJ ordered Israel in January to do all it could to prevent death, destruction and acts of genocide in Gaza. In March, the court issued fresh provisional measures ordering Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where experts say a famine is imminent.

Meanwhile, a separate investigation by another international court — the International Criminal Court — is also worrying Israeli officials.

The ICC probe was launched in 2021 into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza. The probe is also looking at Israel’s construction of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Israeli officials in recent days have expressed concern about possible arrest warrants upcoming in that case.