GERMANY hit back today over a case brought by Nicaragua that accused Berlin of facilitating genocide by providing arms and other support to Israel in its deadly assault on Gaza.

Christian Tams, a member of Germany’s legal team, told the 16-judge panel at the United Nations International Court of Justice that “the minute we look closely, Nicaragua’s accusations fall apart.”

Mr Tams said that Germany had licenced only four exports of weapons of war to Israel since October, “three of which concern test or practice equipment.”

On Monday, Nicaragua urged judges to order a halt to German military aid to Israel, arguing that Berlin’s support enables acts of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

The head of Germany’s legal team Tania von Uslar-Gleichen said Nicaragua's claims “have no basis in fact or law. They are dependent on an assessment of conduct by Israel, not a party to these proceedings.”

Preliminary hearings held Monday and Tuesday are focused solely on Nicaragua’s request for provisional measures, including a court order for Berlin to halt military and other aid to Israel and reinstate funding to the UN aid agency in Gaza.

Closing Germany’s arguments, Ms von Uslar-Gleichen urged judges not to impose preliminary measures and to throw out Nicaragua’s case.

At Monday’s hearings, Nicaragua's ambassador to the Netherlands, Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, accused Germany of “failing to honour its own obligation to prevent genocide or to ensure respect of international humanitarian law.”

In a preliminary phase of a case brought late last year by South Africa, the UN court said that it is “plausible” that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.

The court will likely take weeks to deliver its preliminary decision in this case and years before reaching a final judgement.

Israel strongly denies that its assault amounts to genocidal acts, saying it is acting in self-defence after the Hamas attack on October 7 during which nearly 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

Since then, more than 33,175 Palestinians have been killed by the Israelis in Gaza, two-thirds of whom are women and children, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

At least 76,000 Palestinians have been wounded during the Israeli assault.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany is second only to the US in quantity of arms supplied to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, now home to around 1.4 million Palestinians.

“It will happen. There is a date,” said Mr Netanyahu said on Monday, without elaborating.