Cuba joins South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ
View of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during a hearing as part of South Africa's request on a Gaza ceasefire in The Hague, on May 24, 2024. (AFP Photo)
Cuba has officially declared its intent to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), according to a statement released by the court on Monday.
“Cuba, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” the court confirmed.
In December 2023, South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel, accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention in its treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, a number of other nations, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, and Türkiye, have joined the case.
Death toll rises
Israel has continued its offensive in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack, despite a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. Local health authorities report that nearly 46,600 people, the majority of whom are women and children, have been killed, with over 105,000 others injured.
The ongoing assault has displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza, with severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. The region remains under blockade, with large parts of the territory rendered uninhabitable.
