Cape Town [South Africa], February 14: South Africa filed an urgent application with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to examine whether an Israeli expansion of military operations in Rafah is legal under international law.
Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is the last refuge for Palestinians in Gaza, the South African government said in a statement released on Tuesday. The urgent request was filed on Monday.
South Africa is "gravely concerned" that the military offensive in Rafah "has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm and destruction." It said this would be a "serious and irreparable breach" of both the UN's Genocide Convention and an ICJ order issued on January 26.
The order, in response to a December South African filing, told Israel to prevent genocidal acts but did not require Israel to end its military operations in Gaza. Israel entered Gaza after an unprecedented massacre in Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 kidnapped at the hands of the Palestinian group Hamas and others. The ICJ decision was an interim finding in a proceeding that is expected to take years. The court has no enforcement powers.
On Tuesday, criticism of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive in Rafah continued to grow, after staunch allies like the United States, Britain and Germany voiced opposition to conducting a major operation in Rafah.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called Israel's response to the October 7 attacks "disproportionate." "There are too many victims who have nothing to do with Hamas at all," Tajani, who also serves as deputy prime minister, told RAI Radio 1, emphasizing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must do more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has repeatedly said that it is doing all that it can to protect civilians and said it is working on a plan to evacuate people in Rafah ahead of an offensive. US media reports, citing Egyptian officials, say Israel wants to build extensive tent cities for the population to be evacuated further north of Rafah. It has asked the United Nations for help. But on Tuesday the UN emergency aid organization OCHA said it will not take part in the forced evacuation of Palestinians from Rafah.
Source: Qatar Tribune
