TURKEY filed a request with a UN court today to join South Africa’s lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, the foreign minister said.

Turkey’s ambassador to the Netherlands submitted a declaration of intervention to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.

With the development, Turkey, one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, becomes the latest nation seeking to participate in the case.

Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and Libya have also asked to join the case, as have Palestinian officials. The court’s decision on their requests is still pending.

“We have just submitted our application to the [ICJ] to intervene in the genocide case filed against Israel,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on Twitter/X.

“Emboldened by the impunity for its crimes, Israel is killing more and more innocent Palestinians every day.

“The international community must do its part to stop the genocide; it must put the necessary pressure on Israel and its supporters,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of genocide, called for it to be punished in international courts and criticised Western nations for backing Israel. In May, Turkey suspended trade with Israel, citing its assault on Gaza.

South Africa brought a case to the International Court of Justice late last year, accusing Israel of violating the genocide convention through its military operations in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader on Tuesday after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran.

The selection of Mr Sinwar may signal that the Islamist group is prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of destruction from Israel’s campaign in Gaza.

The announcement comes at volatile moment. Fears are high of an escalation into a wider regional war, with Iran vowing revenge against Israel over Haniyeh’s killing and Lebanon’s Hezbollah threatening to retaliate over Israel’s killing of one of its top commanders in an air strike in Beirut last week.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to salvage negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, shaken by Haniyeh’s killing.

In reaction to the appointment, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television: “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7 terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him.”

Israel’s killings of multiple senior officials in Hamas over recent months left Mr Sinwar as the most prominent figure in the group.