South Africa pushes international court to stop Israel invasion of Rafah

South Africa is pushing the International Court of Justice to intervene before Israel can carry out a full-scale invasion of Rafah.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague held a hearing on Thursday after South Africa requested the court issue further constraints on Israel last week.

“Israel’s genocide has reached a new and horrific stage. … South Africa has traveled here today to do what it can to urgently stop this genocide. … Israel is escalating its attacks on Palestinians in Gaza, and in so doing, is willfully breaching the binding orders of this court,” Vusi Madonsela, South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, said in South Africa’s opening statement.

Israel will have a chance to address the court on Friday.

The hearings this week are a part of South Africa’s case alleging Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. In January, the court ordered Israel to increase its efforts to prevent the killing and harm of Palestinian civilians in Gaza but did not call for a ceasefire.

Israeli leaders have vehemently and repeatedly denied allegations of genocide.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a short video message in January, “Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself,” and added, “The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected.”

The United States and several other governments have publicly said they do not support a complete Israeli invasion of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge. Limited operations have been carried out, while roughly 600,000 people have fled Rafah since May 6, according to the United Nations.

“It has become increasingly clear that Israel’s actions in Rafah are part of the end game in which Gaza is utterly destroyed as an area capable of human habitation,” Vaughan Lowe, a British lawyer, told the court, according to the New York Times. “This is the last step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people.”

The Gaza health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said that roughly 35,000 people have been killed during the conflict, though that figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

“Sadly, South Africa is yet again compelled to return to this court in recognition of its obligation under the Genocide Convention due to the continuing annihilation of the Palestinian people with over 35,000 killed and most of Gaza reduced to rubble,” Madonsela added.

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Netanyahu said last week that Israeli forces have killed 14,000 terrorists and roughly 16,000 civilians.

A main pillar of Hamas’s strategy is to embed itself within and underneath Gaza’s population centers to make Israel’s military decide whether to attack, subsequently risking civilian lives, or not doing so and allowing Hamas to live unabated.