Skip to main content
The Morning Star 2026 Conference
South Africa takes Israel to the ICJ over genocide in Gaza
South Africa has urged the International Court of Justice to issue urgent interim measures including an immediate suspension of Israeli military aggression in and against Gaza, reports TANUPRIYA SINGH
A Palestinian child wounded by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip receives treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, December 31, 2023

SOUTH AFRICA has launched a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for crimes of genocide against Palestinian people in Gaza. The application was filed on December 29, the 84th day of Israel’s bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip.

“The acts and omissions by Israel… are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group,” the 84-page-long application states.

“The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily harm and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

Establishing intent

Destroying the conditions of life

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/menzies-punches-table-frustration-after-first-round-loss
Features / 16 December 2025
16 December 2025

The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE

Relatives carry the body of 13-year-old Seraje Ebrahim, killed in an Israeli strike on a drinking water distribution point, for burial outside Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, July 13, 2025
Gaza / 14 July 2025
14 July 2025

Over 30 nations to gather in Colombia to bring a halt to the genocide in Gaza

An activists aboard the Madleen ship
Palestine Solidarity / 14 July 2025
14 July 2025

This time it is joined by famed Amazon union organiser Chris Smalls and the new vessel, the Handala, will carry baby formula for Gaza’s starving children just weeks after Israeli forces abducted the Madleen’s crew in international waters, reports ANA VRACAR

A Palestinian girl struggles to obtain donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 9, 2025
Gaza Genocide / 10 May 2025
10 May 2025

ANSELM ELDERGILL draws attention to a legal case on Tuesday in which a human rights group is challenging the government’s decision to allow the sale of weapons used against Palestinians