South Africa asks World Court for more measures against Israel

Amsterdam: South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order additional emergency measures against Israel, which it says is breaching the measures already in place, the UN's top court said on Wednesday.

In its application South Africa warned that Palestinians in Gaza were facing starvation and asked to court to order that all parties cease hostilities and release all hostages and detainees.

South Africa also asked to court to order that Israel take "immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address famine and starvation" in Gaza.

It added that the ICJ, also known as the World Court, should take these measures without scheduling a new round of hearings because of the "extreme urgency of the situation".

In January the World Court, as the ICJ is also known, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians, after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.

Israel and its Western allies described the allegation as baseless.

A final ruling in the case in The Hague could take years.