From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 1, 2024
South Africa claims deadly stampede around Gaza aid convoy amounts to Israeli breach of ICJ order
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
South Africa says Thursday’s mass-casualty incident in northern Gaza where dozens of civilians were killed swarming humanitarian aid trucks breached the World Court’s provisional orders in a legal case in which Pretoria has accused Israel of committing genocide in the coastal enclave.
“South Africa condemns the massacre of 112 Palestinians and the injury of hundreds more as they sought life-saving aid,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation says in a statement, relying on Hamas’s death count from the Gaza City incident.
“This latest atrocity is another breach of international law and in breach of the binding provisional orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).”
In a case brought by South Africa, the ICJ in January ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and to report back on what steps it was taking in a month’s time.
Israel has denied allegations of genocide and said it has the right to defend itself.
The South African statement says Israel had submitted a report to the ICJ, which Pretoria was preparing a response to.
“An immediate and unconditional call for a ceasefire is now a moral and life-saving necessity,” it says.
The Times of Israel Community.