Hamas hails Egypt for joining genocide case against Israel at top UN court

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian group Hamas has hailed Egypt’s decision to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its deadly war on the Gaza Strip.

Cairo said early Sunday that it will join the genocide case against Israel at the ICJ over “the escalating 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.”

In a statement, Hamas praised Egypt’s condemnation of the Israeli “crimes” in Gaza and called on all Arab and Islamic countries “to take similar steps in support of the Palestinian cause by joining the lawsuit” against Israel.

It also urged all countries “to sever relations with the (Israeli) occupation, isolate it internationally, and seek to bring its leaders to accountability over their systematic crimes against children and people in the Gaza Strip.”

Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been children and women, 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.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, 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 the southern city of Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala