​​LONDON 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced Thursday it extended the deadline for Israel to submit its defense in a genocide case before The Hague.

"By an Order dated 14 April 2025, the #ICJ has extended the time-limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial of Israel to 12 January 2026 in the case," the ICJ said in a statement.

The proceeding was supposed to take place July 28 -- the deadline for Israel to file a counter-memorial.

The court said Israel asked March 27 to extend the date to January, stating that "such an extension was necessary for a number of reasons."

Among those reasons is that Israel claimed preparation of the counter-memorial had been "significantly impeded because of a range of evidentiary issues that had arisen in connection with the Memorial of the Republic of South Africa."

The ICJ said it extended the deadline after taking into account the views of the parties.

Israel is facing a genocide case at the ICJ for its war on the Gaza Strip, which since October 2023, has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​