Pro-Palestinian supporters react in celebration after wacthing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivering its decision following a hearing of the case against Israel brought by South Africa in The Hague at the Embassy of Palestine in Pretoria on Friday. South African lawyers presented their case at the UN's top court in The Hague, where South Africa lodged an urgent appeal to force Israel to "immediately suspend" its military operations in Gaza. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that it has jurisdiction over the genocide case. — AFP JOHANNESBURG, Jan 26 (Agencies): South Africa hailed on Friday a ruling by the United Nations' top court that Israel should do everything it can to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague handed down its verdict in a landmark case brought by Pretoria also ordering Israel to allow humanitarian access to the Palestinian territory.
"Today marks a decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people," South Africa's ministry of foreign affairs said.
"The decision is a momentous one," it added, thanking the court for its "swift ruling".
South Africa has accused Israel of breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention-set up in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust-during its military campaign in Gaza, sparked by the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
The court did not pass judgement on whether or not Israel is actually committing genocide but handed down emergency orders while it considers the wider accusation-a process that is likely to take years.
"Third States are now on notice of the existence of a serious risk of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza," the ministry of foreign affairs said.
"This necessarily imposes an obligation on all States to cease funding and facilitating Israel's military actions, which are plausibly genocidal."
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ruling council of the ruling African National Congress party erupted in cheers, singing and dancing after judges read the order.
Ramaphosa was due to make a speech on the ruling later Friday.
The ANC's National Executive Committee suspended a meeting to watch a broadcast from the court, and live footage from the event showed senior party and government figures celebrating.
The case, and their government's involvement in it, has also generated public interest in South Africa, where many have sympathy for the Palestinian quest for statehood.
In Cape Town and Pretoria, AFP reporters found people gathering to watch the ruling, which was carried in full on state television.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Friday at least 26,083 people have been killed in the war between the militant group and Israel.
At least 183 Palestinians have been killed and 377 others injured over the past 24 hours as Israel continues its attacks on the Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave said on Friday.
“The Israeli occupation committed 19 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, leaving 183 martyrs and 377 injured during the past 24 hours,” a ministry statement said.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the statement said.
With the latest Palestinian casualties, the death toll from Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 has risen to 26,083, with 64,487 others injured, the ministry said.
Spanish government welcomes UN court Gaza ruling
Spain, one of the most critical voices in Europe of Israel's offensive against Hamas, welcomed Friday a ruling by the United Nations' top court that Israel should act to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
"We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice and ask the parties to apply the provisional measures it has decreed," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on social network X, the former Twitter.
Erdogan hopes UN court ruling can halt Gaza violence
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday welcomed a United Nations court ruling that Israel should prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, saying he hoped it will halt attacks against civilians.
"We hope that Israel's attacks against women, children and the elderly will come to an end," Erdogan said in a social media statement, calling the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling "valuable".
UN aid agency probes staff suspected of role in Israel attacks
The United Nations (UN) aid agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas and that it had severed ties with these staff members.
"The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7," said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General.
"To protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay."
WHO chief breaks down describing 'hellish' Gaza conditions
The head of the World Health Organization called for a ceasefire and a "true solution" to the Israel-Palestinian conflict in an emotional plea to the global health body's governing body on Thursday where he described conditions in Gaza as "hellish".
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who lived through war as a child and whose own children hid in a bunker during bombardments in Ethiopia's 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, became emotional describing conditions in the bombed-out Gaza enclave.
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