Israel-Gaza live updates: 'Constructive meeting' but 'gaps' remain: Israeli PM

The United Nations' top court decided Friday not to throw out South Africa's case accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague is also set to announce its decision on "provisional measures," which could include ordering Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza.

"The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering," ICJ president Joan Donoghue told the packed courtroom.

A final ruling on the genocide allegations, which Israel vehemently denies, is expected to take years.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor

The United Nations' top court is set on Friday to deliver its first interim ruling in the genocide case brought against Israel by South Africa.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague will not yet decide whether Israel has committed genocide -- a ruling that is expected to take years -- but instead will announce its decision on "provisional measures," which could include ordering Israel to halt its military operations in the neighboring Gaza Strip. The bar for ordering such measures is much lower than the final genocide ruling. For Friday, the court only has to decide if there is a "plausible" risk Israel is committing genocide against Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinian residents amid the war with Hamas, the militant group that rules the enclave. The panel of judges could also reject South Africa's case and shut down the trial -- a move that many legal experts say is unlikely.

Israel has vehemently denied the genocide allegations and can ignore any rulings from the ICJ , as it's done in the past. But the court's decisions would apply more pressure to Israel and its allies, including the United. States. The country has vehemently denied the genocide allegations.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell and Morgan Winsor

At least 13 people were killed and 56 people were injured -- 21 of them critically – on Wednesday after a hit by "direct fire" struck the UNRWA Khan Yunis Training Center, where displaced people have been sheltering in Gaza, according to the UNRWA.

“There are 43,000 internally displaced people registered in this massively overcrowded UNRWA shelter, and all of them now find themselves at the epicentre of the war,” Thomas White, the director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, said in a statement. “Many have already been displaced multiple times and have nowhere else to go.”

CIA Director Bill Burns will travel to Europe soon to meet with Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials for talks on a potential agreement to free hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a prolonged cessation of hostilities, according to two U.S. officials.

This will be at least the third time Burns has journeyed abroad to push negotiations forward.

Various proposals have been discussed in recent weeks, and the two U.S. officials declined to speculate on the contours of any deal currently on the table. But the officials said the U.S. believes it is now possible to secure the release of all the remaining hostages through a single diplomatic agreement.

The officials said that securing the return of the remains of dead hostages would also be part of the negotiations.

As many as six American hostages -- five citizens and one lawful permanent resident -- are still believed to be alive in Gaza. The FBI has open cases on the deaths of at least two American hostages whose bodies are believed to still be in Gaza.

-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford