ASIATODAY.ID, CAIRO – Egypt stated that it has joined the genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Israel’s deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said the move was taken “in light of the severity of Israel’s attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the systematic targeting of civilians and destruction of infrastructure in the strip.”
“This action is a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 concerning the protection of civilians during times of war,” said the ministry in a statement, on Sunday, May 12, 2024.
Egypt called on Israel, as an occupying power, to comply with its obligations and implement temporary measures requested by the ICJ to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
They also demanded that the UN Security Council and stakeholders immediately intervene to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, stop military operations in Rafah, and provide protection for Palestinian civilians.
More than 35 thousand Palestinians have been killed and more than 76,600 others injured in Israel’s deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel.
Last week, the Palestinian resistance group Hamas accepted a proposal put forward by Egypt and Qatar to carry out a ceasefire in Gaza. However, Israel says the ceasefire offer accepted by Hamas does not meet its main demands.
Israel decided to continue the operation in Rafah, which currently hosts 1.5 million refugees, to apply “military pressure on Hamas to achieve progress in the release of the hostages and other war objectives.”
More than seven months into Israel’s war, much of Gaza has been devastated by a blockade that has crippled food, clean water and medicine.
An interim ruling by the ICJ, based in The Hague, in January said it was “plausible” that Tel Aviv was carrying out genocide in Gaza.
The ICJ ordered Tel Aviv to stop these actions and take steps to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach civilians in Gaza.
South Africa on Friday, May 10 asked the ICJ to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures in connection with the war. (AT Network)
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