Gaza war: South Africa asks ICJ to halt Israel’s offensive


The then president of the court, Joan Donoghue, told the BBC last month that the ICJ did not decide that there was a plausible case for genocide, but rather that the Palestinians had a right to be protected from genocide, as claimed by South Africa.

The ICJ is not expected to deliver a ruling on the genocide case for several years. Its rulings are legally binding, but in practice unenforceable by the court.

The latest application is the third which South Africa, whose governing party has a long history of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, has filed with the ICJ against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Israel began its offensive in Gaza after gunmen from the ruling Palestinian group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking 252 others hostage.

More than 35,270 people have been killed by Israel in the war in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.



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