TRANSCRIPT
South Africa has urged the United Nation's top court to order Israel to stop its offensive in Gaza, saying it has reached a new horrific stage.
It is the third time the International Court of Justice has held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed legal proceedings in December.
South Africa's Ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela told the court, if it isn't halted, Israel's offensive in Rafah could be the last step in the destruction of Gaza and its Palestinian people.
"Sadly, South Africa is yet again compelled to return to this court in recognition of its obligation under the Genocide Convention, due to the continuing annihilation of the Palestinian people, with over 35,000 Now killed and most of Gaza reduced to rubble. Despite the short notice of this oral hearing, South Africa has travelled here today to do what it can to urgently stop the ongoing genocide, the gravity of the attacks requiring urgent and speedy proceedings to preserve the rights of the Palestinian people. A commitment with South Africa takes seriously."
He told the court's 15 international judges, previous preliminary orders issued by the court are not sufficient to address "a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza".
He says the latest request is for Israel to "totally and unconditionally withdraw" from the Gaza Strip.
During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza, saying it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas militants.
This week's hearings will only focus on issuing emergency measures - and it could take years before the court's ruling is delivered on the underlying charge of genocide alleged by South Africa.
The court's judges have broad powers to order a ceasefire and other measures, but the court does not have its own enforcement apparatus.
Barrister Vaughan Lowe is representing South Africa at the United Nations court.
He says there is a lot on the line with the court's ruling.
"The essential point is that the court has the power to act, to ensure that its previous orders and its eventual judgment will not be worthless, and that the Palestinian people will be protected. And that it needs to exercise that power now."
South Africa has also demanded access to Gaza for reporters and war crimes investigators, to collect and preserve evidence of potential war crimes.
South African diplomat Zane Dangor says what is happening in Gaza needs to be monitored closely to prevent any atrocities or war crimes.
"What we're asking for is the court to use its powers to stop this carnage. The Court to use its powers in an unambiguous way to stop this, that we do not need the court to provide language that infers what Israel must do, that the court must explicitly state, that Israel must stop its genocidal acts in Rafah, that it must stop its genocidal acts in Gaza. And that includes an unambiguous call to seize its military operations in Rafah and the whole of Gaza."
Israel has stressed that it has increased humanitarian aid to Gaza as instructed by the ICJ, but also says it must eliminate Hamas for its own security.
But Mr Dangor says the scale of suffering is now so intense, that a total ceasefire is needed to feed, medicate, and aid its desperate population.
Israel's military has also confirmed that five soldiers have been killed by Israeli tank fire in northern Gaza, in one of the deadliest incidents since Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Rafah offensive is critical to Israel's goal of eliminating Hamas.
"The battle in Rafah is critical. It's not just the rest of their battalions, it's also their oxygen pipes for escape and resupply. This battle, of which you are an integral part, is a battle that decides many things in this campaign. I repeat: we are in a critical battle now. Your action helps to end it. Its completion advances us a huge distance toward defeating the enemy."
Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war; and the UN says most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced in the last seven months.
The court has set aside a separate day to hear Israel's argument.
