The ICJ found that it was plausible Israel was violating its obligations in the enclave[Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Six countries have filed their interventions in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
The Netherlands and Iceland filed interventions in the case on Wednesday, while the US, Hungary, Fiji and Namibia filed interventions on Thursday, according to the ICJ’s website.
All states filed their declarations under Article 63 of the court’s statute, which allows states to submit their observations on the interpretation of the treaty.
The Netherlands said in its filing that forced displacement, starvation, and withholding of humanitarian aid, as well as acts against children, can play a role in determining genocidal intent.
Iceland said that the deprivation of food, shelter, and medical care could threaten the conditions of life of the victim group, i.e. the Palestinians, and said that the vulnerability of children should also be taken into consideration in assessing mental and physical harm.
Namibia, too, said in its intervention that the decision and consequence of withholding of food, water and medical care could also be included as part of killing members of the victim group, especially when authorities have complete control over humanitarian assistance.
The US, however, argued in its intervention against any broadening of the standard of intent, key to establishing an act of genocide, which it says would lead to lowering standards and broadening the application of the term genocide.
Washington also said that civilian casualties during armed combat in urban environments may not prove genocidal intent.
Fiji also said that its intervention was focusing on the application of the Genocide Convention in the context of urban warfare, while Hungary said it was examining the interpretation of the crime of genocide and the attempts to broaden the definition, saying it blurred the boundaries of other international obligations.
The interventions are the latest to be announced by governments around the world after South Africa submitted its case to the ICJ in December 2023, accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
Other states that have intervened under Article 63 include Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Belgium, Ireland, and Palestine, among others.
South Africa’s case has already been heard in court proceedings, where the court found that it was plausible Israel was violating its obligations in the enclave.
The court has also placed provisional measures on Israel to prevent breaches of the convention, such as allowing humanitarian aid into the enclave.
Israel has placed restrictions on aid into the enclave, including a full-scale blockade in 2025 that led to a famine declaration in northern Gaza.
Israel has killed over 70,000 Palestinians since October 2023, destroyed much of the enclave, including housing, roads, schools and hospitals, and displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
