South Africa files a suit to ICJ against Israel

Shafaq News/ South Africa approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking an urgent order asserting that Israel has violated the 1948 Genocide Convention in its actions against the Palestinians in Gaza.

South Africa described Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."

"The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction," the application said.

The aggression in Gaza began directly after October 7 when Hamas militants conducted a cross-border attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over 22,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials.

Israel's foreign ministry rejected the suit, calling it "baseless" and placing blame on Hamas for using Palestinians as human shields and misappropriating humanitarian aid.

On the other hand, Palestine, expressing support for South Africa's move, called on the court to act swiftly to protect the Palestinian people and demand Israel, the occupying power, to halt its offensive.