On 29 December South Africa asked the ICJ (International Court of Justice) for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its crackdown against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
The UN venue for resolving disputes between states, the ICJ, South Africa's filing alleged Israel was disregarding its obligations under the treaty, drafted in the wake of the Holocaust, which makes it a crime to attempt to eradicate a people in whole or in part.
"necessary in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people," It asked the court to issue provisional, or short-term, measures ordering Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza strip.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said "Israel, since 7 October 2023 in particular, has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide."
As per the Palestinian health officials, Israel has already killed more than 21,000 people in Palestine since October 7.
