In a groundbreaking move, South Africa has asserted that Israel's response to the October 7 offensive by the Palestinian Hamas resistance group has violated the Genocide Convention. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is currently holding a hearing on the "genocide" case against Israel for its actions in Gaza.
During the proceedings at the top UN court, South Africa argued that Israel's relentless two-month-long war on the densely-populated Gaza Strip, sparked by the Hamas attack, constitutes a breach of the UN Genocide Convention. Pretoria filed an 84-page suit against Israel, urging the ICJ to promptly declare that the Tel Aviv regime has violated its international law obligations in its ongoing campaign in the impoverished coastal region.
South Africa presented evidence of brutality in Gaza, making it the first nation to file a lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ. The country appeals to the court to compel Israel to "immediately suspend" its military operations in Gaza. Ronald Lamola, South Africa’s justice minister, emphasized that no armed attack justifies breaches of the convention, accusing Israel of crossing this line in its response to the October 7 attack.
Lamola highlighted the systematic oppression and violence endured by Palestinians for the past 76 years, emphasizing Israel's control over Gaza's airspace, territorial waters, land crossings, infrastructure, and government functions. South Africa initiated the case in an effort to prevent such crimes, citing Article 1 of the Convention, which prohibits acts of genocide.
