This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

War against Hamas in Gaza is act of self-defence, Israel tells world court

Israel strongly rejected accusations by South Africa of genocidal intent against Palestinians, on Friday at the United Nations’ highest court, insisting that it was engaged “in a war it did not start and did not want” in Gaza.

Addressing the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Israel’s legal team insisted that the Israeli military’s objectives were to eradicate the existential threat posed by Hamas militants and to free 136 hostages taken on 7 October.

Israel also rejected South Africa’s petition to the court to order Israel to immediately suspend its military campaign in Gaza, under the provisions of the Genocide Convention.

This amounted “to an attempt to deny Israel its ability to meet its obligations to the defence of its citizens, to the hostages and to over 110,000 displaced Israelis unable to safely return to their homes,” the ICJ heard.

Public health risk from COVID remains high - WHO

COVID-19 news now, and the public health risk from the coronavirus remains high, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday.

The virus is still circulating globally but relatively few countries are following infections closely, meaning that the actual threat could be anything from two to 19 times higher than what is being reported to WHO.

The UN health agency’s COVID focal point, Dr Maria Van Kerhove, told journalists in Geneva that data from just 50 countries indicates 10,000 deaths per month from the virus.

“On the positive side, the numbers of deaths have reduced drastically since its peak a couple of years ago…among those 10,000 deaths reported in December, more than half were reported from the United States of America, 1,000 from Italy. So, we are missing deaths in countries from around the world. Because countries aren't reporting deaths, doesn't mean that they're not happening.”

Dr Van Kerkhove also noted with concern a steep rise in hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions and warned that these numbers are likely to have increased over the holiday season.

The UN health agency official said that many countries continue to suffer unnecessarily from COVID which can be prevented with adequate testing and antivirals, along with appropriate clinical care, oxygen and vaccination.

Cabo Verde celebrates victory in fight against malaria

Staying with health matters and good news for Cabo Verde which is now officially malaria free.

WHO called the development a “historic milestone in the fight against malaria” on Friday, adding that a total of 43 countries and one territory have banished the deadly disease.

Cabo Verde is the third country in Africa to be certified free from the killer virus. It joins Mauritius and Algeria which were certified safe in 1973 and 2019. 

The burden of malaria is highest in Africa, accounting for approximately 95 per cent of all malaria cases and 96 per cent of related deaths in 2021.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.