Spain has filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join South Africa in its lawsuit against Israel over alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip, the ICJ said on Friday.
"Spain, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)," the court said in a statement.
Spain relies on its status as a party to the Genocide Convention and exercises its right to intervene in the proceedings under Article 63, paragraph 2 of the document, the statement added.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the ICJ against Israel over alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip. On January 26, the ICJ ruled provisional measures ordering Israel to take urgent steps to prevent acts of genocide and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave. At the same time, the ICJ did not order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In early March, the African nation went back to the ICJ to call for additional provisional measures against Israel that would address widespread starvation among Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
On May 10, South Africa addressed the ICJ with an immediate request to apply additional measures against Israel. On May 16-17, the court held hearings on the matter. On May 24, the court ordered Israel to stop the military operation in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah and take measures to ensure access of missions to investigate the accusations of genocide.
Earlier this month, Spain announced its intention to join the case.
With Spain, thirteen countries have formally accused Israel of genocide, including Palestine.
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas and rescuing the hostages. More than 37,700 people have been killed and over 86,400 others have been wounded in Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip since October 7, according to local authorities.