THE HAGUE: Five nations, including South Africa on Friday called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) probe into Gaza war that has left thousands of people dead, its chief prosecutor announced.
ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan stated that South Africa, Bolivia, Bangladesh, Djibouti and Comoros all ICC members had sought a probe of “the situation in the state of Palestine.”
Karim Khan added that a probe into events in Gaza and the occupied West Bank began in March 2021 now “extends to the current escalation of violence since the October, 7.”
Khan recently visited the main crossing point between Egypt and Gaza, maintained his team had taken a “significant volume” of evidences on the Gaza war.
Five Nations Seek ICC Probe into Gaza War
He asked for more evidences to be submitted and said that he would visit the state of Palestine and Israel to meet with survivors and engage with relevant counterparts. He urged all actors to extend their support with his office.
South Africa’s ministry of foreign affairs said it was urging ICC members nations to join the referral seeking a probe into Gaza war. It added that South Africa remained dedicated to ending license for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. It maintained that South Africa hoped that the situation in Palestine would be prioritized by the ICC to provide justice to the victims of these crimes against humanity.
Legal experts said that Israel could face war crimes charges over the crisis in Gaza. The ICC probe started in 2021 was into war crimes by Israeli troops.
The UN experts said that every hour that passes with Israel stopping the provision of clean drinking water in Gaza, in shameless breach of global law, puts people at risk of dying of thirst and different diseases related to the lack of clean drinking water.
READ ALSO: Israel Must Halt Using Water as ‘Weapon of War: UN Expert
Israel must permit clean water and fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip “before it is too late,” a United Nations expert warned on Friday, as he called on Israel to halt using water as a “weapon of war.”
Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation said as per global law, intentionally depriving the civilians of the conditions needed to sustain normal life with the target of bringing about their destruction is classified as an act of termination and a crime against humanity.
