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South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to take additional emergency measures against Israel over the "large-scale famine" occurring as a result of its devastating attack on the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, South Africa urged the court to issue an order for new procedures without holding a hearing in light of the situation, which it described as extremely urgent.

She stressed the need for further measures to ensure the safety and security of more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the International Court of Justice announced that it had received an urgent request from South Africa to take additional precautionary measures against Israel in the case it filed against it on charges of committing genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

This is the third request submitted by South Africa against Israel to the court, which is the highest judicial body in the United Nations, since the start of the devastating occupation war on the Gaza Strip more than 5 months ago.

The court said - in a statement - that South Africa submitted an urgent request to specify additional precautionary measures and amend the court order issued on January 26, 2024, and its subsequent decision issued on February 16, in the case filed against Israel, related to the application of the Convention to Prevent and Punish. (Committing) the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The Court of Justice explained that South Africa stated in its new request that it was obliged to return to the court in light of the new facts and changes in the situation on the ground in Gaza, especially the widespread famine, which was caused by the continuing grave violations of the Convention (Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide) by Israel, and its apparent continuing violations of the preventive measures referred to by this Court on January 26, 2024.

South Africa warned that its request may be “the last opportunity available to this court to save the Palestinian people in Gaza who are already dying from hunger, and are now one step away from famine,” citing data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In response to the case filed by South Africa on December 29, the International Court of Justice, on January 26, ordered Tel Aviv to take measures to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been besieged by Israel for 17 days. years and a devastating war was waged against it, leaving tens of thousands martyred and wounded.

The court also ordered Israel to submit a report within a month of the issuance of the decision regarding the extent to which it has implemented these measures.

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With the expiration of the deadline on February 26, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority claimed that Israel had begun an initial experiment to transfer humanitarian aid from Israel directly to Gaza City, which was not supported by any evidence on the ground.

On February 16, the court rejected another request submitted by South Africa, urging it to take additional measures after Israel announced, at the time, its intention to launch operations in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, which was crowded with displaced people, threatening to commit new massacres.

The court said in its response at the time that there was no need for new measures and that the measures announced by it on January 26 were sufficient, reiterating its call on Israel to adhere to them.

As a result of the devastating war and Israeli restrictions, the residents of the Gaza Strip, especially the Gaza and North governorates, are on the verge of famine, in light of a severe scarcity of food, water, medicine and fuel supplies, with the displacement of about two million Palestinians from the besieged Gaza Strip.

Yesterday, Wednesday, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced that the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration in the Strip had risen to 20, while the Director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that the children of Gaza who survived the Israeli bombing may not survive the famine, calling for allowing more entry. Of aid to the besieged sector.

The devastating Israeli war on Gaza, which has been ongoing since last October 7, left tens of thousands of civilians martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies