South Africa asks IJC to weigh Israel's Rafah offensive

South Africa announced Tuesday that it had approached the World Court to assess whether Israel’s plan to expand its offensive in Gaza into the city of Rafah warrants additional emergency measures to safeguard the rights of Palestinians. Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) instructed Israel to take all necessary steps to prevent its troops from engaging in genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, following a case brought forward by South Africa. Israel has refuted all accusations of genocide about its conflict with Gaza’s ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Israel has urged the court to dismiss the case, asserting its adherence to international law and its right to self-defence. Israel has said it is planning to expand its ground assault into Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge from the offensive that has laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip since Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7. “In a request submitted to the court yesterday (Feb. 12), the South African government said it was gravely concerned that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as announced by the State of Israel, has already led to and will result in further large-scale killing, harm and destruction,” a statement issued by South Africa’s presidency said.“This would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court’s Order of Jan. 26.” The Hague-based ICJ declined to comment on whether it had received the request. In past cases, the ICJ has sometimes granted additional emergency measures when circumstances on the ground changed. The court has not yet ruled on the core of the case brought by South Africa - whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. But it recognised the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide. With inputs from agencies.