you have the floor M Mr

President members of the Court it is a

privilege to appear again before you on

on behalf of South

Africa but it’s also tragic that we are

back here 4 months after this court

first ordered provisional measures in

this case against the state of

Israel South Africa is compelled to

appear before you with this urgent

request for provisional measures in

circumstances where the alarm sounded by

the court on 28 March

2024 that quote

all the indicators of genocidal

activities are flashing red in Gaza end

quote and in Raa in particular is

sounding louder than ever

before this is because Israel has defied

every single provisional measure

indicated by this court in its orders of

26 January and 28 March and in its

decision of 16 February February as I

stand before you today Palestinians in

Gaza are not safe they are not secure

they are still being subjected to an

ongoing and intensifying genocide at the

hands of Israel their future hangs in

the

balance Mr dupy explained in his address

the assault unfolding in Rafa the last

area in Gaza in which Palestinian life

can meaningfully be

sustained The Assault on Rafa which has

triggered this application is

inextricably linked to the ongoing

genocidal conduct being committed across

Gaza Mr

President I place before the court again

a map of

Gaza I remind the court that Gaza is

narrow strip of land of approximately

365 Square

kilm it is just 6 kilm wide the length

from top to bottom is just 44

kilm which is about the distance between

this court and skipple

airport in South African terms this is

even less than the dist distance between

Johannesburg and

Petoria Rafa lies in the south of Gaza

with an area of approximately 60 square

kilm this time last year Rafa was home

to around

275,000

Palestinians as a result of Israel’s

Onslaught and its evacuation orders

covering more than 34 of gaza’s total

territory 1.2 million additional

Palestinians fled into Rafa under order

of Israel as a place of last

Refuge now Israel has issued further

evacuation orders directing Palestinians

to leave

Rafa in just the past week 600,000

Palestinians have been forced to flee

from

Rafa but with nowhere to go there is a

total collapse of infrastructure of

Sanitation of water of food

supply in short the conditions necessary

to sustain life for the 2.3 million

Palestinians in

Gaza the picture on the screen shows

Palestinians last month starting to

return to their homes after Israel’s

withdrawal of its

occupation of K

yunice as we can all see there is

nothing

left Israel’s most recent actions in

Rafa bring its coordinated plan aimed at

the disr destruction of the essential

foundations of Palestinian life in Gaza

into horrifying Focus we are in the

final stages of that coordinated plan

where the different actions of Israel to

use Lenin’s

terminology the systematic

disintegration of the political and

social institutions and the economic

existence of national groups and the

destruction of the personal security

Liberty Health

dignity and even the lives of

Palestinians have led to the present

precipice Israel has the power over each

and every Palestinian man woman and

child in

Gaza to determine if they live or how

they

die history warns us what happens

next we cannot simply stand by waiting

for that to happen

again it is not possible to recount

every story of every Palestinian who is

suffering at the hands of Israel’s

Relentless genocidal

campaign indeed this court has held in

Bosnian

genocide

that quote it is

sufficient to examine those facts that

would illuminate the question of intent

or illustrate the claim by the applicant

of a pattern of Acts committed against

members of the group such as to lead to

an inference from such pattern of the

existence of a specific

intent end

quote in these

submissions I show that Israel’s

genocidal acts against Palestinians in

Rafa form part of a continuing

escalating pattern of conduct across

Gaza that provides persuasive and

consistent evidence of Israel’s

genocidal

conduct in light of these new facts

South Africa seeks an order from the

court the only

order that will clearly protect what is

left of Palestinian life in Gaza it

seeks an explicit order that Israel

cease its militaries military

activities not only in Rafa but

throughout

Gaza turning then to the genocidal

acts in my remaining time before you I

will highlight the following features of

the genocidal campaign by

Israel

first Israel has continued to kill

Palestinians in Gaza including women and

children at an alarming

rate second as a result of Israel’s

Onslaught Palestinians in Gaza are

facing what the under Secretary General

of the UN has described as the worst

humanitarian crisis he has seen for more

than 50

years

third Israel’s systematic targeting and

bombardment of hospitals and medical

facilities and its throttling of

humanitarian Aid has pushed gaza’s

medical system to

collapse fourth Israel’s direct

attack and Siege of gaza’s biggest

hospitals has led to the uncovering of

mass Graves evidencing Israeli massacres

of Palestinians seeking

shelter and medical

treatment

finally most recently Israel has

intensified its attacks in the north

while pressing on with its rougher

offensive leaving displaced Palestinians

nowhere safe to

go I will take these in

turn the first feature of the genocide

conduct

killing since South Africa appeared

before the court on 11 January

2024 at least

11,500 Palestinians have been directly

killed by

Israel the majority of these casualties

are women and children in an enclave

where nearly 50% of the population our

children this Onslaught has occurred

despite the binding orders issued by

this court and The Binding Security

Council

resolution on 25 March

2024 demanding an immediate ceasefire

for the month of

Ramadan in fact as UNICEF pointed out a

double digigit number of children were

killed K within hours of that

resolution two mothers and four children

are killed every

hour unra head Philip lazarini

says there are no words left that can do

any justice to the people of

Gaza the numbers of dead and injured

defy

comprehension at least 35 ,000

Palestinians killed and 79,000 injured

with 10,000 more reportedly missing or

under the

rubble up to 1.7 million

displaced most multiple

times and More than 70% of all housing

stock in Gaza and more than 80% in parts

of Northern Region damaged or

destroyed the second feature

is a humanitarian

catastrophe Israel’s coordinated plan in

Gaza has resulted in a humanitarian

crisis the crisis that this court warned

about in January

February and in

March what Palestinians in Gaza

face has been described as quote

apocalyptic levels of pain and Injustice

given that food and other vital Aid

cannot get in and people including the

chronically sick and injured cannot get

out end

quote these

apocalyptic conditions look set to

worsen with Israel’s ongoing attacks on

the North middle and South will full

with full-blown famine in the north

moving its way south and where Israel’s

blockade on food Fuel and medical

supplies

continue gaza’s children have suffered

particularly

severely more than

14,000 have been

killed thousands more have been injured

or lost family

members while an estimated 177,000

children are unaccompanied or

separated nearly all of gaza’s

children have been exposed to traumatic

experiences the consequences of which

will last lost a

lifetime make no

mistake these conditions are a direct

result of Israel’s military Onslaught on

The besieged Enclave with full knowledge

of the destructive consequences of this

humanitarian

crisis in these

circumstances in these circumstances

the thwarting of humanitarian Aid cannot

be seen as anything but the deliberate

snuffing out of Palestinian

lives starvation to the point of

famine obstructing Aid in the face of

famine and killing of at least 200 Aid

workers for the Court’s previous orders

to be effective for the provision of

humanitarian Aid

urgently and at scale Israel has to be

ordered to stop its military

offensive the third

feature of genocidal

conduct relates to the crippling of

gaza’s medical

system Israel’s offensive on Rafa has

further reduced Access to Health Care in

an already decimated Health System only

two out of 36 hospitals are located

within the

so-called humanitarian area designated

by Israel in just 6 days between 6 and

12 May met Sansan Frontier recorded that

it was forced to suspend its life

sustaining activities at Al shabura

Clinic hand over its

activities at alir

hospital and was forced to close its

activities in Rafa Indonesian field

hospital as it could not guarantee the

security and safety of patients and

staff with the ongoing

offensive The Assault on healthc care

within Rafa is the culmination of a

pattern of attacks on Healthcare

Services in Gaza through which the main

hospitals across Gaza have completely

stopped

functioning after Israel’s military

assault pardon me after Israel’s um

military

seized the Rafa and Kem Shalom Crossings

last week and prohibited the importation

of lifegiving fuel to hospitals on 13

May the European Gaza Hospital

completely ran out of fuel and

experienced a total blackout

without fuel hospitals cannot sustain

incubators respirators and life-saving

Machinery healthc care in Gaza is

crippled by shortages of food fuel

oxygen medicines and

anesthetics the obstetric and maternity

health system in Gaza is virtually

nonexistent and every functioning

medical facility is overwhelmed with

patience babies continue to die of

malnutrition and

starvation nor is there any

Escape medical evacuations are

impossible Israel has seized control of

all entry and exit points into and out

of Gaza trapping an already suffering

population and inflicting conditions of

life

calculated to bring about Palestinians

physical and biological destruction in

clear violation of Article 2 C of the

genocide

convention the fourth feature of

genocidal

conduct is the discovery of mass

graves in its targeted attack on

hospitals Israel has killed killed

hundreds of civilians including doctors

and medical staff turning centers built

for healing into Mass Graves full of the

decomposing bodies of men women and

children on 10 April a un Inspection

Team reported that KH Unice was reduced

to rubble and dirt and

rures discovered ghastly scenes of

Unearthed Mass Graves containing the

massacred bodies of the elderly women

children and men at al- Nasa

Hospital blue scrubs reportedly still

clothed the dead bodies of medical

staff many were

decapitated 300 and 24 decomposing

bodies were

discovered many stripped and

handcuffed of these only 42 were

identified another 30 bodies were

discovered in two Mass graves in alifa

hospital with only 12 bodies

identified prompting the UN Secretary

General to call for the immediate access

of independent

investigators these bodies included

women and children with many reportedly

showing signs of torture and summary

executions the recent discovery of

multiple Mass Graves Israel’s ongoing

Chokehold on information coming out of

Gaza and complete refusal to allow

independent investigators

in means that we will not know

how many Palestinians have been killed

by Israel’s military campaign for some

time if at all and only if the evidence

is not

obliterated by Israel’s ongoing military

operations in what commissioner vulka

Turk describes as the prevailing climate

of

impunity it is for this reason that

South Africa seeks an order requiring

Israel to facilitate the unimpeded

access into Gaza of fact finding

missions officials investigators and

journalists the fifth

feature of genocidal conduct relates to

Israel’s intensified attacks in the

North during the past

week while our eyes and attention were

drawn to the horrific acts unfolding in

Rafa Israeli tanks rolled again into

Northern

Gaza an area that Israel reported that

it had cleared many months ago on 11 May

Israel issued evacuation orders over 22

neighborhoods in jabalia in Northern

Gaza at least 100,000 people in the

North have been forced to flee their

devastated

homes that same day that same day of the

evacuation

orders Israel began a Relentless assault

on Northern Gaza killing Palestinian

families in their homes and children

near the Toba mosque within the jabalia

refugee

cramp journalists report that they have

no idea

about the number of people killed in

North Gaza for the past day as Medics

are unable to move due to the heavy

bombing many people are still trapped

under the rubble waiting for rescue but

no one is able to move under the Reigns

of

bombs as I stand before you Mr President

it

continues on 14 and 15 may just

yesterday

and the day before yesterday the Israeli

military issued two new sets of

evacuation orders for all or part of 19

neighborhoods in Northern

Gaza

displacing even more Palestinians in

search of

safety Mr

President these are the credible

facts Israel will no doubt

out once again deny and cast aspersions

on the information presented by South

Africa and provided by the UN and other

International actors including those

this court itself has relied

on it will do so while continuing to

systematically attack all independent

sources of information about what is

taking place in Gaza and refuse

International investigators and

journalists entry into

Gaza having denied access to Gaza and

attempted to discredit all other sources

of information Israel is then free to

portray a picture of Gaza radically at

odds with all other

accounts just yesterday the prime

minister’s

office

proclaimed that quote the humanitarian

catastrophe that has been spoken

of has not been realized nor will it end

quote a bold denial of the findings of

un experts and other independent

agencies such as the

IPC as this court pointed out the IPC is

a global Partnership of organizations

including amongst others the world food

program the food and agriculture

organization of the UN and the World

Health

Organization

ultimately Israel says only what suits

them only if and when it suits them not

withstanding the facts on the ground

that have been presented here

today despite the court providing Israel

with an

opportunity to respond to South Africa’s

current

request Israel has failed to submit a

response in conclusion Mr

President members of the

Court the risks to the people of Gaza

are

imminent irreparable and rapidly

increasing this

risk gives rise to the necessity for the

remedy that we seek in this application

a remedy that will end Israel’s

genocidal campaign against Palestinians

in Gaza all of what I have described

must

stop Israel Must Be Stopped South Africa

is before you again

today to respectfully ask the court to

invoke its powers under article 752 of

the rules of the court to order a remedy

that will stop

Israel Mr

President that concludes my submissions

on the genocidal

conduct I thank you for your patient

attention and I ask that you call Mr

Nuka toi to the podium to address the

court on genocidal intent