UN Court
Cuba joins South Africa’s “genocide” lawsuit against Israel
South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel with the International Criminal Court in December 2023
© Björn Trotsky / Imago Images
Since the beginning of October 2024, Israel has been waging a bitter war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The suffering of Palestinian civilians is immeasurable. Some states believe that Israel has overreacted.
Cuba has announced that it is joining South Africa’s complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. The island state will, as a third state, present its interpretation of the norms of the UN Genocide Convention, which Israel has been “blatantly violated” by its actions in the Gaza Strip, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
The action is in line with the “firm and sustained commitment” of the Cuban government to “support and contribute as much as possible to legitimate international efforts to end the genocide against the Palestinian people,” the foreign ministry of the communist-ruled country said.
At the beginning of June, Chile and Spain had already joined the South African lawsuit against Israel.
Israel’s Gaza war has now lasted nine months
The ICJ in The Hague is currently examining a case filed in December in which South Africa accuses Israel of “genocide” in the Gaza Strip. In response, the ICJ ordered Israel in January to do everything in its power to prevent acts related to possible “genocide” in its crackdown on the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In May, the court also ordered a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, fighters from Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups carried out a major attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 1,194 people according to Israeli sources. In addition, 251 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In response to the major attack, Israel has since launched a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip. According to figures from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 37,430 people have been killed so far.