Why has Nicaragua taken Germany to the ICJ over Gaza genocide?

Nicaragua accuses Germany of violating the Genocide Convention by supporting Israel amid its onslaught on Gaza.

Palestinians in Gaza City see what is left of a car after an Israeli attack that killed a man and a child, September 6, 2026 [AFP]

Germany is back before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague over its support for Israel, more than two years after Nicaragua accused Berlin of “facilitating” the Gaza genocide by supplying Israel with weapons.

Filed in 2024, the case alleges Germany has breached the Genocide Convention and international humanitarian law.

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Germany, Israel’s biggest arms supplier after the US, denies the accusations and is seeking to stop the case from proceeding, challenging the admissibility of some of Nicaragua’s claims, as well as the court’s jurisdiction.

The ICJ, or World Court as it is widely known, which was set up to rule in disputes between nations, has become a key player in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, following the Hamas-led October 7, 2024 attacks. A case of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel is ongoing.

The hearings in the Netherlands do not yet decide whether Germany, Europe’s largest economy, violated international law. They will determine whether the case can move towards a fuller examination of the allegations.

Here is what you need to know:

What is Nicaragua accusing Germany of?

Nicaragua says Germany has violated its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention by providing Israel with military equipment, despite being aware of the risk that genocide could be committed in Gaza.

It has also accused Germany of breaching international humanitarian law.

“By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA … Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide,” Nicaragua said when it filed the case in March 2024.

Germany has long been one of Israel’s strongest international supporters, despite widespread acknowledgement from human rights groups and top genocide scholars that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory.

Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Netherlands, argued in 2024 that Germany had failed “to differentiate between self-defence and genocide”.

Nicaragua initially sought emergency orders requiring Germany to halt military assistance to Israel and resume funding for UNRWA.

However, the ICJ rejected those provisional measures in April 2024, but refused to dismiss the broader case.

In January 2024, the World Court ruled – as part of a separate case brought by South Africa – that there was “a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice” would be caused to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention.

What does Germany claim?

Germany rejects Nicaragua’s allegations and has asked the court to throw out the case.

On Monday, Germany told the ICJ that Nicaragua had failed to follow the required steps before bringing the case, and that large parts of its complaint lie beyond the court’s jurisdiction under the Genocide Convention.

“Germany ⁠⁠⁠⁠respectfully requests the court to reject Nicaragua’s claims,” legal adviser of the German foreign ministry, Julia Monar, told the court’s judges.

Berlin has argued that its weapons exports undergo detailed legal scrutiny.

During the 2024 hearings, German lawyer Christian Tams said 98 percent of exports to Israel since October 7, 2023, consisted of general military equipment such as helmets, vests and binoculars.

Germany is now making “preliminary objections”, arguing that the ICJ lacks jurisdiction and that some of Nicaragua’s claims are inadmissible. The full details of those objections have not been made public.

What is the latest situation in Gaza?

A US-brokered ceasefire has been in place since last October, but Israeli attacks have continued.

Israeli attacks killed at least four Palestinians on Sunday, including an eight-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health says at least 1,344 Palestinians have been killed and 4,464 wounded since the ceasefire took effect. The ministry puts the overall Palestinian death toll since October 2023 at 73,470, with at least 174,540 wounded.

The UN Satellite Centre says 82 percent of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed, while Gaza health authorities, UN agencies and aid groups estimate that 10,000 to 14,000 people remain missing beneath rubble.

The funeral for 100 members of the Malaka, Araheem and al-Balawi families from the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, who were killed earlier in the war and whose remains were recently recovered, September 6, 2026 [Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images]

How long will the case take to conclude?

The immediate jurisdictional dispute could be decided much sooner than the overall case.

The ICJ is holding four days of hearings, after which judges must decide whether Germany succeeds in having the case thrown out. Such preliminary rulings take an average of about six months.

If Germany loses this stage, Nicaragua’s allegations would move towards consideration “on the merits” – a process that can take years.

For comparison, in South Africa’s separate genocide case against Israel, the ICJ has given South Africa until November 2027 for written pleadings and Israel until May 2029 to respond, meaning hearings on whether Israel committed genocide are unlikely before late 2029 at the earliest.

There is therefore no firm date for a final judgement in Nicaragua’s case against Germany – and, if it survives Berlin’s current challenge, a conclusion could still be years away.

尼加拉瓜指责德国支持以色列对加沙的袭击，违反了《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》。

2026年9月6日，加沙城的巴勒斯坦人看到以色列袭击后一辆汽车的残骸，该袭击造成一名男子和一名儿童死亡。[法新社]

德国再次因支持以色列而在海牙国际法院受审。两年多前，尼加拉瓜指责柏林通过向以色列提供武器“助长”了加沙种族灭绝。

该诉讼于 2024 年提起，指控德国违反了《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》和国际人道主义法。

列表 1/3 “挑战致命封锁”：新船队启航前往加沙

问题 2（共 3 个）：以色列对加沙的摧毁是否加剧了其水危机？

3/3 加沙巴勒斯坦人掩埋从废墟中发现的100具遇难者遗骸

德国是除美国之外以色列最大的武器供应国，它否认了这些指控，并试图阻止此案继续审理，质疑尼加拉瓜的一些主张的可采纳性以及法院的管辖权。

国际法院（ICJ），又称世界法院，其设立的目的是裁决国家间的争端，但在哈马斯领导的2024年10月7日袭击事件后，它已成为以色列在加沙实施种族灭绝的关键角色。南非对以色列提起的种族灭绝诉讼仍在进行中。

荷兰的听证会尚未裁定欧洲最大经济体德国是否违反了国际法。听证会将决定此案是否可以进入对指控的更全面审查阶段。

以下是您需要了解的内容：

尼加拉瓜指责德国做了什么？

尼加拉瓜表示，德国向以色列提供军事装备，违反了其在 1948 年《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》下的义务，尽管德国明知加沙可能发生种族灭绝。

它还指责德国违反了国际人道主义法。

尼加拉瓜在 2024 年 3 月提起诉讼时表示：“德国通过向联合国近东救济工程处输送军事装备，现在又停止为其提供资金……正在助长种族灭绝的发生。”

尽管人权组织和顶尖种族灭绝问题学者普遍承认以色列正在巴勒斯坦领土上实施种族灭绝，但德国长期以来一直是以色列最坚定的国际支持者之一。

尼加拉瓜驻荷兰大使卡洛斯·何塞·阿圭略·戈麦斯在 2024 年辩称，德国未能“区分自卫和种族灭绝”。

尼加拉瓜最初寻求紧急命令，要求德国停止对以色列的军事援助并恢复对联合国近东救济工程处的资助。

然而，国际法院在 2024 年 4 月驳回了这些临时措施，但拒绝驳回更广泛的案件。

2024 年 1 月，世界法院在南非提起的另一起案件中裁定，根据《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》，加沙巴勒斯坦人的权利“面临遭受不可弥补的损害的现实和迫在眉睫的风险”。

德国声称什么？

德国驳斥了尼加拉瓜的指控，并要求法院驳回此案。

周一，德国向国际法院表示，尼加拉瓜在提起诉讼前没有遵循必要的程序，而且其申诉的大部分内容超出了《防止及惩治灭绝种族罪公约》赋予法院的管辖范围。

德国外交部法律顾问朱莉娅·莫纳尔告诉法庭法官：“德国恭敬地请求法庭驳回尼加拉瓜的诉求。”

柏林方面辩称，其武器出口受到详细的法律审查。

在 2024 年的听证会上，德国律师克里斯蒂安·塔姆斯表示，自 2023 年 10 月 7 日以来，对以色列的出口中 98% 是头盔、背心和双筒望远镜等通用军事装备。

德国目前提出“初步反对意见”，认为国际法院缺乏管辖权，并且尼加拉瓜的部分诉讼请求不予受理。这些反对意见的全部细节尚未公开。

加沙地带的最新局势如何？

自去年10月以来，在美国斡旋下达成的停火协议一直有效，但以色列的袭击仍在继续。

周日，以色列的袭击造成至少四名巴勒斯坦人死亡，其中包括一名八岁女孩和一名三岁男孩。

加沙卫生部表示，自停火生效以来，至少有1344名巴勒斯坦人丧生，4464人受伤。该部统计，自2023年10月以来，巴勒斯坦人死亡总人数已达73470人，至少174540人受伤。

联合国卫星中心表示，加沙 82% 的建筑物遭到破坏或摧毁，而加沙卫生部门、联合国机构和援助组织估计，仍有 10,000 至 14,000 人被埋在废墟下失踪。

2026年9月6日，加沙城宰图恩区马拉卡、阿拉希姆和巴拉维家族100名成员的葬礼举行，他们在战争早期丧生，遗骸最近被找到。[艾哈迈德·哈萨巴拉/盖蒂图片社]

案件需要多久才能结案？

眼前的管辖权争议可能比整个案件的解决速度快得多。

国际法院将举行四天的听证会，之后法官将决定德国能否成功驳回此案。此类初步裁决平均需要六个月左右的时间。

如果德国输掉这一阶段，尼加拉瓜的指控将进入“实质性”审议阶段——这一过程可能需要数年时间。

相比之下，在南非对以色列提起的另一起种族灭绝案中，国际法院给予南非至 2027 年 11 月提交书面诉状的期限，给予以色列至 2029 年 5 月作出回应的期限，这意味着最早也要到 2029 年底才有可能举行关于以色列是否犯下种族灭绝罪的听证会。

因此，尼加拉瓜诉德国一案的最终判决日期尚未确定——而且，即便该案经受住了柏林目前的挑战，判决结果可能仍需数年才能得出。