The U.N.’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to hold hearings on Thursday and Friday to discuss new emergency measures sought by South Africa regarding Israel’s attacks on Rafah during the Gaza war, the court announced on Tuesday. This is part of an ongoing case that South Africa filed at the ICJ in December last year, accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its offensive in Gaza.
The war in Gaza has resulted in nearly 35,000 deaths, according to health authorities in Gaza, with Israeli tallies reporting around 1,200 deaths in Israel and 253 individuals taken hostage on Oct. 7 when Hamas initiated the attack that led to the war. However, Israel has denied these allegations and stated that it is acting in accordance with international law. They have called the genocide case baseless and accused South Africa of acting as the legal arm of Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants.
On Thursday, South Africa will address the court after requesting the ICJ to order Israel to cease its offensive in Rafah and allow unimpeded access to Gaza for U.N. officials, humanitarian aid organizations, journalists, and investigators. Meanwhile, Israel will present its arguments on Friday according to the court’s schedule. The hearings will focus solely on issuing emergency measures to prevent further escalation of the conflict before a full ruling can be made on the merits of the case which may take years.
It’s important to note that while ICJ decisions are binding and cannot be appealed, it lacks enforcement mechanisms which could pose a challenge for implementing any orders issued by this court