WATCH: ICJ begins hearings on South Africa petition urging court to halt IDF’s Rafah op

The International Court of Justice begins hearings on South Africa’s fourth application against Israel accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, on this occasion asking it to order Israel to halt its operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

South Africa’s latest suit alleges that the current operation will make life in Gaza untenable due to the already severe humanitarian situation in the territory, widespread destruction in other parts of the Strip, and the importance of the Rafah Border Crossing in supplying Gaza with aid.

South Africa therefore argues that a full Israeli assault on Rafah would violate the clause of the Genocide Convention that prohibits “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The application erroneously stated that the critical Kerem Shalom crossing, through which the large majority of aid enters Gaza, is closed, although it reopened on May 8. The Coordination for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit, an agency of the Defense Ministry, has noted that a new goods crossing has also been opened up on Gaza’s northern border with Israel for the supply of aid.

Former head of the International Law Department at the State Attorney’s Office Yuval Kaplinsky has said that the urgent manner in which the ICJ agreed to hear South Africa’s application indicates it could be ready to issue sharp orders against Israel, based on its previous orders on South Africa’s requests when no hearings were held at all.