The U.N. judges will today, Friday, January 26, rule on South Africa’s appeal for an emergency measure against Israel to be ordered, including for Isreal to stop its military operations in Gaza, over which it faces allegations of a state-led genocide at the World Court.
Friday’s ruling at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will be solely focusing on the urgent intervention sought by South Africa.
Among the measures South Africa is seeking is for an immediate halt to Israel’s military operation. This military attack has destroyed a lot of the enclave and killed over 25,000 people, according to reports by the Gaza health authorities.
Israel, for its part, urged the court to reject the case outright. An Israeli government spokesperson had on Thursday, January 25, said they expected the U.N.’s top court to “revoke these spurious and specious charges”.
Israel has since rejected the accusations South Africa has flung at it, saying that it respects international law and has a right to defend itself.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after a cross-border rampage on October 7, 2023 by Hamas militants. Israeli officials said that 1,200 people were killed in that attack, most of whom were civilians. Additionally, it was reported that 240 Isreali were taken hostage.
The court will announce the verdict of its ruling at 1 p.m. (1200 GMT) in a hearing expected to last about an hour.
The 17-judge panel will only decide on whether to foist provisional measures and also announce whether there is a plausible risk that Israel’s operation violates the 1948 Genocide Convention law.
