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South Africa returned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday, seeking urgent protection for Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing military assault on Rafah.

Also read: SA urges ICJ to pressure Israel to halt Rafah offensive

According to a statement released by the presidency on Saturday, the urgent court application comes in response to an escalation in Israel’s assault on Rafah, which poses a severe threat to humanitarian aid, basic services in Gaza, the survival of the Palestinian medical system and the overall survival of Gaza’s Palestinian population.

‘South Africa contends that the attack on Rafah further worsens the prevailing situation and causes irreparable harm to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza and that the situation has changed significantly since the Court’s Order of 28 March 2024,’ said President Ramaphosa.

Currently, Rafah stands as the final refuge for some 1.5 million Palestinians who have been displaced by Israel’s military campaign and the last functional hub for public administration and the delivery of essential services, including medical assistance.

‘Since the start of the military action in Rafah, Israel has seized control of both the Rafah and Karem Shalom (Karem Abu Salem) crossings, effectively controlling all movement in and out of Gaza, and cutting off all critical humanitarian and medical supplies, goods and fuel,’ he added.

‘Israel has further prevented medical evacuations and has treated evacuation zones as extermination zones, as evidenced with the destruction of hospitals in Gaza and discovery of mass graves in other major healthcare facilities in the Strip.’

Also read: Dirco expresses outrage at discovery of mass graves in Gaza

Continuing, Ramaphosa called for ‘urgent interventions and investigations of all actions that continue to cause irreparable prejudice to the rights of Palestinians, including the use of Artificial Intelligence for targeted killings’.

South Africa requested that the ICJ indicate the following provisional measures:

  1. Israel shall immediately withdraw and cease its military offensive in the Rafah Governate
  2. Israel shall immediately take effective measures to allow for the unimpeded movement of humanitarian, medical and fact-finding personnel, as well as essential goods and services, into Gaza.
  3. Israel shall submit an open report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to (a) these provisional measures within a week from the date of this order and (b) all previous provisional measures indicated by the ICJ within a month from the date of this order

South Africa also requested that the Court reaffirm and seek urgent compliance by Israel with the provisional measures ordered by the Court on 26 January and 28 March.

Calling on the international community to do more to end the persecution of Palestinians, Ramaphosa said the country is ‘deeply heartened by the protest actions of university students in the United States and other parts of the world’

Also read: SA welcomes UNSC demand for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Meanwhile, Egypt on Sunday announced its intention to formally support South Africa’s case at the ICJ against Israel, which accuses the state of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its war against Hamas in Gaza, reported Al Jazeera.

‘The submission… comes in light of the worsening severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the continued perpetration of systematic practices against the Palestinian people, including direct targeting of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in the Strip and pushing Palestinians to flee,’ the publication quoted the foreign ministry statement as saying.

Egypt will join Turkey and Colombia in formally requesting to join the case as Gaza’s death toll crosses 35 000 people.

At the time of publication, Al Jazeera added that around 110 000 Palestinians have fled Rafah in recent days, according to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

For live updates from Al Jazeera, click here. 

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Picture: @UNRWA / X

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