In response to South Africa’s request for additional provisional measures against Israel, the International Court of Justice reiterated that the Israeli State must “immediately and effectively” implement the precautionary measures issued on January 26 to prevent genocide in Gaza.
“The Court observes that the most recent events in the Gaza Strip, and in Rafah in particular, ‘would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with incalculable regional consequences”, said the ICJ statement, which echoed the words of the secretary general of the UN, about the serious situation in the enclave.
Despite the events in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, the ICJ, in The Hague, did not consider it necessary to require “additional measures” from Israel, as South Africa had requested.
However, the Court reiterated that the State of Israel is obliged to fully comply with the orders of the ruling and to cease all activities that could constitute genocide, underscoring the importance of protecting the rights of the Palestinians.
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The South African government recently petitioned the ICJ to investigate Israel’s decision to expand its military operations in Rafah, the last refuge for the more than 1.5 million survivors in Gaza, and called for the use of powers of the ICJ Court to prevent further rights violations against Palestinians.
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According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since the beginning of Israel’s hostilities in the Gaza Strip, the number of murders has reached 28,663 people, most of them children and women. In addition, the number of injured is reported to have risen to 68,300.
