In a communiqué, the Foreign Ministry reacted to the request of the main UN judicial body to Israel to take measures to thwart genocide in Gaza Strip devastated by Tel Aviv with its bombardments since October 7, launched alongside a total siege and ground operations in retaliation for the Hamas attack of that day.

The Ministry stated that the ICJ indicated from its headquarters in The Hague preliminary actions on the basis of Article 41 of its Statute, pending a ruling on jurisdiction and merits.

At the end of December, South Africa filed a case with the accusation of genocide against Israel for its crimes in Gaza, where the death toll has amounted to over 25,000, the majority women and children. Thus, the lawsuit was initiated by an 84-page briefing backed by countries worldwide.

Although Judge Joan Donoghue did not mention in the ruling the commission of genocide, which could take years to prove, she did describe what is happening in the Strip as a “human tragedy” and expressed the Hague Tribunal’s concern over the high number of deaths there.

According to France, when the ICJ informs the States Parties to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948) of the possibility of making observations, it will submit its own.

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