Israel's president on Sunday accused the UN world court of misrepresenting his words in a ruling that ordered Israel to take steps to protect Palestinians and prevent a genocide in the Gaza Strip. The court's ruling on Friday cited a series of statements made by Israeli leaders as evidence of incitement and dehumanizing language against Palestinians. They included comments by President Isaac Herzog made just days after the October 7 Hamas cross-border attack that triggered Israel's war against the Islamic militant group.

Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in that attack and took about 250 others hostage. The Israeli offensive has left more than 26,000 Palestinians dead, displaced more than 80 per cent of Gaza's inhabitants and led to a humanitarian crisis in the territory. Talking about Gaza's Palestinians at an October 12 news conference, Herzog said that 'an entire nation' was responsible for the massacre, the report by the International Court of Justice noted.