On Wednesday, South Africa has sought the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek more emergency measures against Israel. It claims Israel is violating existing sanctions, the United Nations’ top court announced.
In its case, South Africa asserted that Palestinians in Gaza were starving. Consequently, the country requested the court to order all parties to cease hostilities and release all hostages and prisoners.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the South African presidency emphasized that Gazans cannot wait.
“The threat of all-out famine has now materialized. The court needs to act now to stop the imminent tragedy by immediately and effectively ensuring that the rights it has found are threatened under the Genocide Convention are protected,” it added.
South Africa also requested that the court order Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address famine and starvation” in Gaza.
The report also urged the ICJ, often known as the World Court, to take these measures immediately. It argued that a new round of hearings was unnecessary because of the “extreme urgency of the situation”.
After South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza, the World Court, also known as the ICJ, issued a directive. The court ordered Israel to desist from any conduct that could be considered violations of the Genocide Convention. Additionally, it mandated Israel to ensure that its troops perform no genocidal acts against Palestinians.
Israel and its Western allies dismissed the accusation as unfounded. A final decision in the International Court of Justice case in The Hague could take years.
On October 7, the war in Gaza began with a Hamas-led offensive on southern Israeli villages. Israel claims the attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 253 more.
Since the last five months, Israel has inflicted unimaginable suffering on the Palestinian people in blockaded Gaza. According to Palestinian authorities, over 30,000 Palestinians have lost their lives, and most of the 2.3 million residents have been forcibly evicted from their homes. The region is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with widespread famine and sickness, and massive destruction of infrastructure and resources.
Click here for more World news.