Cuba has announced its participation in South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which accuses the regime of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said in a Friday statement that Cuba will formally support South Africa’s genocide complaint against Israel at the ICJ because of the regime’s escalating offensive against civilians in Gaza.
The Cuban ministry expressed its “unwavering and sustained commitment to supporting and contributing as much as possible to legitimate international efforts to put an end to the genocide committed against the Palestinian people."
"Genocide, apartheid, forced displacement, and collective punishment cannot have a place in today's world, and the international community cannot tolerate them," the ministry stated.
Cuba joins Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Maldives, Egypt, Ireland, Belgium, Turkey, and Chile as countries that intend to or have formally announced their participation in the case against Israel.
Earlier this month, Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced its country’s support for a genocide case against Israel, expressing his deep concern over the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in Gaza, especially against women and children.
“Chile will become a party to and support the case that South Africa presented against Israel before the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” Boric said.
South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel in December 2023 over its war on the Gaza Strip. According to South Africa’s application, Israel's actions in Gaza were "genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."
The complaint asked judges in the court to declare that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and order the regime to stop its attacks on people.
The ICJ then issued an initial ruling ordering Israel to refrain from acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention. It issued another verdict in March ordering the regime to ensure that basic food supplies could reach people in Gaza.
On May 10, South Africa asked the ICJ to order a halt to the war in Gaza, particularly in the southern refugee-packed city of Rafah.
The request came after Israel carried out ground incursions into Rafah in defiance of global warnings, forcing more than 800,000 people “to flee.”
On May 24, the ICJ ordered Israel to halt its aggression on Rafah, establish humanitarian corridors and allow the world body to investigate genocide.
Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza on October 7 last year after Palestinian resistance groups carried out a historic operation against the usurping regime in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Since the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza on October 7, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 37,400 Palestinians and injured 85,500 more.