FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has today opened a new hearing on a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide in the war in Gaza.
South Africa is asking the United Nations' top court to use emergency measures to pressure Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half the population has sought refuge.
According to the latest request, recent preliminary injunctions previously issued by the Hague-based court were not sufficient to address a brutal military assault on the only remaining refuge for the people of Gaza.
Israel has portrayed Rafah as the militant group's last stronghold, shrugging off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be disastrous for civilians.
South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; take measures to ensure unhindered access for UN officials, humanitarian organizations and journalists to the Gaza Strip; and to report within a week how it is fulfilling these requirements.
The country also says Israel must take all necessary and effective actions to ensure basic food supplies for Palestinians in Gaza.
During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza and claimed it was doing everything it could to spare civilians and was only targeting Hamas militants.
Most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have been displaced since the fighting began. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count.
The genocide case was first brought by South Africa three months into the conflict and says that by killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and creating living conditions "calculated to bring about their physical destruction" , Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.
The hearings this week come after the first round in January, when the court found it credible that Israel had violated certain rights guaranteed to Palestinians in Gaza under the Genocide Convention.
The judges also ordered Israel to take action to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza./ SkyNews
Lini një Përgjigje