South Africa submits an urgent request for the indication of additional provisional measures and the modification of previous provisional measures

South Africa urged the United Nations’ top court Friday to issue more emergency measures to restrain Israel, saying its military incursion in Rafah threatens the “very survival of Palestinians in Gaza.”

The request marks the fourth for additional measures by South Africa, which filed a genocide case against Israel late last year at the International Court of Justice. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address “a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza.”

At hearings in January, lawyers for Israel argued that its war in Gaza was a legitimate defense of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide.

South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded access to U.N. officials, humanitarian organizations and journalists to the Gaza Strip; and to report back within one week as to how it is meeting these demands.

Earlier this week, Israel issued a warning to evacuate an area of eastern Rafah where approximately 100,000 Palestinians have been sheltering. Israeli military forces have now seized the nearby border crossing with Egypt, leaving all entries and exits from the beleaguered enclave under Israeli control.

Request by South Africa for the indication of provisional measures and modification of the Court's previous provisional measures