South Africa accuses Israel of violating ICJ's legally binding provisional measures
South Africa has accused Israel of breaking legally binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) intended to protect Palestinians in Gaza, while calling on the international community "to take all necessary action to prevent and punish genocide".
In a statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Pretoria said that Israel has refused to comply with three separate provisional measure orders issued by the ICJ. This refusal "undermines their protective function and entails further destruction of the Palestinian group", the statement says.
"The Provisional Measures were not only ordered to protect the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention, they also safeguard the administration of justice and the legitimacy of the ICJ itself, by ensuring that the rights the Court is called upon to vindicate are not destroyed before it renders its final decision."
The statement added: "The Court’s orders are binding on Israel, and the international community also has an obligation to protect the Palestinian people from genocide, including to take all necessary action to prevent and punish genocide."
Earlier this week, the South African government submitted a dossier of evidence to a dedicated committee of judges tasked with monitoring the court’s provisional measures.
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Issued in 2024, the three provisional orders issued by the ICJ against Israel include the prevention of genocidal acts and incitement, ceasing military operations in Rafah and providing immediate access for Palestinians to humanitarian assistance and basic services in the Gaza Strip.
The provisional orders also mandated Israel to submit formal reports to the court detailing steps it has taken to comply, which it did in February 2024.
Under Article 11 of the ICJ’s Internal Judicial Practice, the committee examines information supplied by parties and recommends potential options to the broader court.
The South African government emphasised that the measures "safeguard the administration of justice and the legitimacy of the ICJ itself, by ensuring that the rights the Court is called upon to vindicate are not destroyed before it renders its final decision".
Pretoria’s dossier highlights the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, noting that as of August 2026, at least 73,407 Palestinians have been killed and 174,335 others wounded since 7 October 2023, representing more than 10 percent of Gaza’s entire population.
Among the survivors, an estimated 46,000 Palestinians, including children, are living with severe conflict-related conditions such as amputations and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
The submission also notes that since the announcement of a ceasefire, the Israeli military has continued to kill an average of one Palestinian child every day and that the trauma and unbearable living conditions in Gaza's ever-shrinking territorial enclaves have caused Palestinian miscarriage rates to increase more than three-fold in 2026.
Palestinian rights organisation Al-Haq has welcomed South Africa’s submission to the ICJ documenting Israel’s non-compliance with the provisional orders.
"As the genocide continues, we call on the Court to act propio motu, including through additional Provisional Measures Orders," the organisation said.
Erasing the record
South Africa’s government emphasised that the ICJ’s orders are strictly binding and that the international community bears a collective obligation to take all necessary action to prevent and punish genocide.
"For almost three years, Israel has bombarded Gaza, killing and maiming tens of thousands of children, men and women," the DIRCO statement reads.
It noted that Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained and deported Palestinians to prisons and detention centres where they face torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Pretoria also accused Israel of actively attempting to suppress evidence of its crimes by killing local journalists, barring foreign media and preventing UN-mandated investigative bodies from entering the besieged territory.
South Africa made history as the first country to formally file a genocide case against Israel at the ICJ in December 2023.
The August 2026 dossier is the latest in a sustained legal and diplomatic campaign by South Africa to seek Israel's full and immediate compliance on the global stage.
Pretoria previously submitted extensive public dossiers of evidence to the United Nations Security Council in May 2024, February 2025 and September 2025, urging member states to urgently act to prevent and punish genocide.
Similar dossiers focusing on the deliberate use of starvation were submitted to the UN General Assembly and the UN Economic and Social Council in October 2025, requesting urgent intervention under Article VIII of the Genocide Convention.
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