President Cyril Ramaphosa made an announcement during a two-day visit to Qatar that the South African government has requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) look into claims of war crimes committed by the Israeli government in Gaza.
According to the video speech that was uploaded on his X account, Ramaphosa stated that the action against Israel—a country that has not joined the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC—was made “together with many other countries in the world” without naming the specific countries.
Even though South Africa, a country that actively defends Palestinian sovereignty, did not support the Hamas attacks on Israel, Ramaphosa asserted that the Israeli response amounted to genocide and that the International Criminal Court should look into it.
“We are opposed to the operation that is ongoing, particularly as it is now targeting hospitals where babies, women, and the injured are dying like flies,” the South African leader said.
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“There is a need for the whole world to rise and call for the Israeli government to ceasefire, and stop what is happening and for the ICC to investigate. Of course, legal measures need to be taken at a global level,” he added.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, declared last week that his country would ask the court to bring charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “the massacre” of people in Gaza.
Following a suspected 1,200-person assault into Israeli territory by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Israel declared war on the group last month. For over a month, Gaza has been under constant bombardment by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
Since hostilities began, more than 11,200 individuals have died in the enclave, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, and 2,700 more have been reported missing.
Amidst Israel’s actions in Gaza, South Africa, Chad, Jordan, Bahrain, Honduras, Colombia, Bolivia, and Turkey all called for the recall of their diplomats from Tel Aviv earlier in the month.
