South Africa launched a case on Friday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel for what it said were “genocidal” acts in Gaza.

According to a statement, the ICJ application related to alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, and said that “Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza”.

In The Hague application, South Africa also says that Israel has been acting “with the requisite specific intent… to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group”.

No date has been set for a hearing, while Israel rejected the charge.

Lior Haiat, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman, writing on X, formerly Twitter: “Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa and its application” to the ICJ.

While the ICJ in The Hague is considered the UN’s highest court, its rulings are sometimes ignored. In March 2022 the court ordered Russia to immediately halt its military campaign in Ukraine.

The war started by the violent Hamas attacks on Israel is nearing its 12th week, with vast areas of northern Gaza in ruins and Israeli air strikes and ground combat focussing on central and southern districts.

Gunmen of Hamas launched an attack on Oct 7 that left about 1,140 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The Palestinian militants also took about 250 people hostage, more than half of whom remain captive inside the war zone, some of them believed dead.

Israel’s relentless military campaign since then has killed at least 21,507 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

South Africa has backed the Palestinian cause for statehood in Israeli-occupied territories for decades, likening the plight of Palestinians to those of the black majority in South Africa during the repressive apartheid-era, a comparison Israel vehemently denies.