South Africa has submitted a request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) urging for additional emergency actions against Israel, alleging that Israel is violating existing measures, as disclosed by the U.N.’s top court on Wednesday.
According to the application made by South Africa, the dire situation in Gaza has prompted concerns of potential starvation among Palestinians, leading them to call for a cessation of hostilities and the release of all hostages and detainees.
In a statement released by the South African presidency on Wednesday, it was emphasized that the situation in Gaza demands immediate attention, asserting, “The threat of widespread famine has become a reality. The court must intervene promptly to prevent an impending tragedy by swiftly and effectively safeguarding the rights at risk under the Genocide Convention.”
Additionally, South Africa has petitioned the ICJ to mandate Israel to take “prompt and effective actions to facilitate the provision of urgently required basic services and humanitarian aid to address famine and starvation” in Gaza. It has further urged the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to implement these measures urgently without the need for further hearings due to the critical nature of the situation.
In January, the ICJ issued an order for Israel to abstain from any actions that could potentially constitute violations of the Genocide Convention and to ensure that its forces refrain from committing genocidal acts against Palestinians, following allegations from South Africa accusing Israel of state-sponsored genocide in Gaza.
Israel and its allies in the West have dismissed these allegations as groundless. A final verdict in the ICJ case, situated in The Hague, might not be reached for several years.
The conflict in Gaza was ignited by a Hamas-led assault on southern Israeli communities on October 7th, which Israel claims resulted in 1,200 casualties and 253 individuals being taken captive. Over the subsequent five months, Palestinian authorities assert that Israel has caused the deaths of over 30,000 individuals in the besieged Gaza Strip, displacing a significant portion of its 2.3 million inhabitants, exacerbating widespread hunger and illness, and causing extensive destruction across the territory.
