South Africa has filed an application at the International Court of Justice to begin proceedings over allegations of genocide against Israel for its war against Hamas in Gaza, the ICJ said.
Over 21,507
people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the
enclave’s Hamas-controlled Health Ministry. Among the dead are at least
308 people who were sheltering in United Nations shelters, according to
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees.
Israel’s
aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, in response to Hamas’
deadly terror attacks and kidnapping rampage on October 7, have caused
widespread devastation in the densely-inhabited coastal strip, prompting
outcry from the UN and the international community.
South
Africa accuses Israel of being “in violation of its obligations under
the Genocide Convention” in its application and argues that “acts and
omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character, as they are committed
with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,”
according to the ICJ.
Israel has rejected South Africa’s claims and application to the world court, saying through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs that South Africa “is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel, and that its “claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis.”
“Israel is committed to international law and acts in accordance with it, and directs its military efforts only against the Hamas terrorist organization and the other terrorist organizations cooperating with Hamas,” its statement said, adding that it has made “every effort to limit harm to the non-involved and to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.”
US President Joe Biden said earlier this month that that Israel is engaged in “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza. US intelligence assessment suggests that nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza in its war with Hamas have been unguided, otherwise known as “dumb bombs.” Unguided munitions are less precise and can pose a greater threat to civilians.
South Africa’s application came as Israel’s military said Friday that it is expanding its operations in southern Gaza, where civilians were previously told to seek refuge. It also claimed to have destroyed a network of tunnels and one of the “hideout apartments” belonging to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. CNN cannot independently verify the IDF’s claims.
“South Africa is gravely concerned with the plight of
civilians caught in the present Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip due to
the indiscriminate use of force and forcible removal of inhabitants,” a
statement released by South Africa’s Department of International
Relations and Cooperation said on Friday.
“Furthermore, there
are ongoing reports of international crimes, such as crimes against
humanity and war crimes, being committed as well as reports that acts
meeting the threshold of genocide or related crimes as defined in the
1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, have been
and may still be committed in the context of the ongoing massacres in
Gaza,” it says.
“As a State Party to the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, South Africa is
under a treaty obligation to prevent genocide from occurring.”
South
Africa and Israel are both parties to the Genocide Convention,
according to the ICJ, which is also known as the World Court and is the
principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
