Egypt announced on Sunday that it would join South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice causing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
The announcement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs came nearly a week after Israel seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the day after the Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders for Rafah and the north of Gaza. It also comes as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that around 300,000 people had fled Rafah in the last week and the death toll reported by the Gaza Health Ministry surpassed 35,000.
“The submission… comes in light of the worsening severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, and the continued perpetration of systematic practices against the Palestinian people, including direct targeting of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in the strip, and pushing Palestinians to flee,” the Egyptian ministry said in the statement explaining its decision.
Over the last week, @UNRWA estimates around 300,000 people have now fled #Rafah, as the forced and inhumane displacement of Palestinians continues.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 12, 2024
There is nowhere safe to go.
There is nowhere safe to go.
There is nowhere safe to go. pic.twitter.com/sPnmblvg47
South Africa filed its case against Israel in late December 2023, accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention as it waged its war on Gaza.
In a preliminary ruling in January, the ICJ determined that it was plausible that Israel was conducting a genocide in Gaza and ordered it to “take all measures within its power” to avoid doing so.
In its statement, Egypt’s foreign ministry called on Israel “to comply with its obligations as the occupying power and to implement the provisional measures issued by the ICJ, which require ensuring access to humanitarian and relief aid in a manner that meets the needs of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel cut off aid when it seized the Rafah border crossing, making it even harder for Gazans to access essential goods like food and fuel, though Israel said on Sunday it had opened a new crossing for aid in the north.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also repeated a call for the U.N. Security Council and the international community to take action to stop violations in Gaza and Israel’s attack on Rafah.
Egypt is the third country after Colombia and Turkey to request to join South Africa’s case. However, its request is especially significant for Israel, Alon Liel, former director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told Al Jazeera. Liel said that Egypt was the “cornerstone” of Israel’s standing in the Middle East since the two countries signed a treaty in 1979.
“With Egypt joining South Africa now in The Hague, it’s a real diplomatic punch. Israel would have to take it very seriously,” Liel said. “Israel has to… listen to the world — not only to the Israeli public opinion asking now for revenge.”
Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza began October 7 in response to a Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,100 people and captured around 250 hostages. Before that attack, Israel had blockaded Gaza for 16 years.
Egypt’s action on Sunday accompanied warnings and expressions of alarm from humanitarian workers, diplomats, and journalists as Israel escalated its campaign in Gaza over the weekend.
“Over the past 48 hours, Israel has intensified its attacks in Gaza as it orders Palestinians in the south to move north and the north to move south,” journalist and Intercept co-founder Jeremy Scahill wrote on social media Sunday. “Tel Aviv is forcing Palestinians to be contestants in its murderous game show as it flouts international law and basic human decency.”
UNRWA on Saturday posted photos of bomb-damaged schools in Khan Younis to which displaced families were now returning following the new evacuation orders.
“The classrooms are torched. Walls are blown out. There is rubble everywhere,” UNRWA said. “This situation is unfolding under the world’s watch. Enough is enough.”
Responding to the images, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote, “Since the war began, most people in Gaza have moved multiple times: on average once a month. They desperately sought safety that they never found. Some have no choice but to stay in bombed-out UNRWA shelters.”
“The claim of ‘safe zones’ is false and misleading,” Lazzarini continued. “No place is safe in Gaza. Period.”
Again and again.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) May 11, 2024
The exodus continues.
The Israeli authorities continue to issue forced displacement orders also known as “evacuation orders”. This is forcing people in #Rafah to flee anywhere and everywhere.
Since the war began, most people in #Gaza have moved multiple… https://t.co/dnpAllLq3I
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement Sunday, “A full-scale offensive on Rafah cannot take place.”
“I can see no way that the latest evacuation orders, much less a full assault, in an area with an extremely dense presence of civilians, can be reconciled with the binding requirements of international humanitarian law and with the two sets of binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice,” Turk said.
However, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) argued on social media Sunday that Israel’s actions in Rafah already comprised “a large-scale military attack, and not a limited operation as described by Israel.”
The group said that Israel had killed at least 116 people — among them 22 women and 38 children — since IDF forces entered Rafah one week ago.
In addition to stepping up its campaign in Rafah, the IDF has increased its attacks on parts of northern Gaza, including Jabalaya, the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.
Heavy Israeli bombardment of Jabalia refugee camp continues. This video shows the bombardment of the medical personnel and journalists in the camp. pic.twitter.com/HFVEA5Be9B
— Mustafa Barghouti @Mustafa_Barghouti (@MustafaBarghou1) May 12, 2024
“We have been hearing from eyewitnesses on the ground, in that very densely populated area, that military tanks are surrounding evacuation centers and residential buildings,” Al Jazeera journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum reported.
PCHR concluded: “In sum, Israel is continuing its genocidal military campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza unabated. We reiterate our call for an immediate cease-fire. This genocide must end now.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $125,000 in one-time donations and to add 1400 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy