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The international court of justice (ICJ) announced on Tuesday that Belgium has joined the legal case brought by South Africa against Israel, accusing it of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Several countries had already joined the case before Belgium, including Brazil, Ireland, Bolivia, Colombia, Libya, Spain and Mexico, at the United Nations’ highest court.
In a ruling issued in January 2024, around four months after the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the court called on Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under genocide. The court warned of a “real and imminent risk” of “irreparable harm” to Palestinians.
The ICJ also issued provisional measures ordering Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, prevent incitement to genocide and punish those responsible. Israel has so far failed to comply with these orders.
READ: Comoros to join South Africa’s genocide case at ICJ against Israel
Meanwhile, Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza say they are continuing efforts to complete the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which began on 10 October this year, by searching for the body of the last Israeli soldier in their possession. At the same time, Israel is accused of continuing to violate the agreement and failing to implement its terms, especially those related to the first phase.
Since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October, Israel has killed at least 406 Palestinians and injured 1,118 others in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the territory.
The ministry added that, since the outbreak of the war on 7 October 2023, the death toll has reached at least 70,942 Palestinians, with 171,195 others wounded.
READ: ICC rejects Israel’s appeal as arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant remain in force
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
