By Ibrahim Al-Khazen
CAIRO (AA) – Egypt said Sunday it will join a genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the move comes “in light of the severity and scope of the Israeli assaults against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the systematic targeting of civilians and destruction of infrastructure in the strip.”
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 76,600 others injured in a brutal Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 that killed nearly 1,200 people.
Seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
An interim ruling by The Hague-based court in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
South Africa on Friday asked the ICJ to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war.