South Africa Escalates ICJ Case; Cites Israel's Failure to Comply With Court Orders

South Africa submitted a comprehensive compliance dossier to the International Court of Justice on August 25, documenting what Pretoria characterizes as Israel’s systematic failure to implement three binding judicial orders designed to protect Palestinians from irreparable harm.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation announced the filing on Friday, August 28, describing it as essential to a monitoring process that will determine whether the court should recommend further enforcement action. The dossier was submitted under Article 11 of the ICJ’s Resolution Concerning Internal Judicial Practice, a provision established in 2020 that empowers a three-judge committee to examine compliance evidence and report findings to the full court. The committee can recommend options for action; final decisions rest with the broader judicial body.

The three orders at issue were issued on January 26, March 28, and May 24, 2024. They required Israel to prevent acts prohibited by the Genocide Convention, suppress direct and public incitement to genocide, preserve evidence of alleged violations, and facilitate humanitarian access to Gaza. The May order specifically mandated that Israel maintain the Rafah crossing for assistance and ensure unimpeded access for UN-mandated investigators examining genocide allegations.

“Regrettably, Israel has not complied with the orders. South Africa continues to pursue all avenues available to it to seek Israel’s full and immediate compliance with the court’s orders,” Dirco stated. The department did not specify which remedial actions it sought beyond securing compliance, nor did it disclose the dossier’s length or itemize its contents, describing it only as substantial.

The submission arrives at a critical point in the broader proceedings. South Africa filed its detailed written case in October 2024, and Israel responded in March 2025. Under the court’s May scheduling order, South Africa has until November 22, 2027, to file its reply, with Israel’s rejoinder due by May 22, 2029. That extended timeline is precisely why the provisional measures carry operational weight: they are designed to prevent irreparable harm before a final judgment arrives, a process that could extend years further.

Dirco’s documentation of conditions in Gaza presented a stark picture. The department cited at least 73,407 Palestinians killed and 174,335 injured since October 7, 2023, figures matching the Gaza health ministry’s reported totals as of August 19. An estimated 46,000 survivors, including children, were living with severe conflict-related injuries such as amputations and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. The department also highlighted ongoing child deaths despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025.

Unicef reported on August 6 that at least 300 children had been killed in Gaza during the 300 days following the ceasefire announcement, averaging one death per day. Edouard Beigbeder, Unicef’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, was direct: “A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children.” Reuters reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed two children and at least two other Palestinians on August 24, according to health officials. Israel maintains that its military operations target Hamas and other armed groups to prevent imminent attacks.

Meanwhile, Dirco emphasized that Palestinians continued to face deprivation of water, adequate healthcare, medicine, and other essentials. The department framed Israel’s alleged non-compliance as undermining the protective function of the provisional measures themselves. “Israel’s failure to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the court undermines their protective function and entails further destruction of the Palestinian group,” it said.

This filing is one element of South Africa’s broader enforcement strategy. Dirco reported that it had submitted evidence dossiers to the UN Security Council in May 2024, February 2025, and September 2025, followed by separate submissions on starvation to the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council in October 2025. More information on South Africa’s legal strategy and the court’s assessment of compliance is available at https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-29-south-africa-files-dossier-alleging-israel-s-continued-breaches-of-icj-orders/.

South Africa brought the genocide case to the ICJ in December 2023, alleging that Israel’s conduct in Gaza violated the Genocide Convention. Israel rejects the genocide allegation and maintains that its military campaign targets armed groups rather than Palestinians as a group. The ICJ has not yet delivered a final ruling on the genocide claim, but it has determined that Palestinians in Gaza hold plausible rights to protection under the convention and face a real and imminent risk of irreparable harm, the finding that justified the provisional measures now under scrutiny. Whether the three-judge committee’s review translates into any concrete enforcement recommendation remains the open question hanging over the process.