South Africa announced on Tuesday February 13 that it had filed a new appeal with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial body of the UN, so that it urgently examines Israel’s announcement of a next military offensive on Rafah and if necessary opposes “a further violation of rights”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered his army to prepare an offensive on Rafah, the last refuge for 1.4 million Palestinians, according to the UN, or more than half of the total population of the Gaza Strip, the most having fled the war which has been raging for four months. International pressure has since intensified for a truce agreement between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas. Pretoria said it filed an emergency appeal Monday with the ICJ, which sits in The Hague.
South Africa had already approached the Court accusing Israel of “genocide” in Gaza. The judges, who did not comment at this stage on the question of whether or not Israel is actually committing genocide, nevertheless ordered it to prevent such acts. In its new appeal, Pretoria, pointing to “a significant development in the situation in Gaza which requires the urgent attention of the Court”, said it was “gravely concerned” by the new “massacres, injuries and large-scale destruction” that will lead to Israel’s military offensive in Rafah.
According to the South African government, this “would constitute a serious and irreparable violation of the Genocide Convention.” “South Africa is confident that this subject will be addressed with the necessary urgency given the daily number of deaths in Gaza,” adds Pretoria. On Tuesday evening, the ICJ posted the South African request to its X account, with officials confirming its receipt.
The ICJ is not required to take up the case
The Court, created after the Second World War to settle disputes between countries, is not required to take up the case and it is now up to its judges to decide on this point. Its rulings are binding and cannot be appealed, but it has no way of enforcing its decisions.
The war was sparked on October 7, 2023, by an unprecedented attack by Hamas commandos infiltrating from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,160 people, the majority civilians killed that day there, according to an AFP count made from official Israeli data.
In retaliation, the Israeli government vowed to annihilate Hamas in power since 2007 in the Gaza Strip. More than 28,000 people have been killed since the start of the war in the Palestinian territory, the vast majority civilians, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry.
According to Israel, 130 hostages remain in Gaza, 29 of whom are believed to be dead, out of some 250 people kidnapped on October 7. A week-long truce in November allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians held by Israel.