The hearings on May 16 and 17 will deal with South Africa's request to the court to order more emergency measures against Israel over its attacks on Rafah, the tribunal added, part of an ongoing case which accuses Israel of acts of genocide against Palestinians.

Israeli tanks forged deeper into eastern Rafah, reaching some residential districts on Tuesday, stepping up an offensive in the southern border city where more than a million people had been sheltering after being displaced in seven months of war.

Israel for the first time has released its estimate of how many civilians it believes have died during fighting against Hamas inside the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian health authorities say Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people, mostly civilians, and driven most of the enclave's 2.3 million people from their homes.

Global health officials say the number of women and children killed in Gaza has not been revised down after new details published by the United Nations sparka an outcry.