South Africa has submitted a dossier to the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel continues to violate three binding orders intended to protect Palestinians in Gaza, warning that the failure to comply threatens both Palestinian lives and the administration of justice.
The department of international relations and cooperation (Dirco) said on Friday that the dossier, submitted on 25 August, would assist a committee of judges responsible for monitoring implementation of the court’s provisional measures and recommending possible action.
“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,” the department said in its 28 August statement.
The submission focuses on compliance with protections already ordered by the court while South Africa’s genocide case proceeds. The timetable for further written arguments extends to May 2029, underscoring the importance of measures intended to prevent irreparable harm before a final judgment.
South Africa said it had submitted the dossier under Article 11 of the court’s Resolution Concerning Internal Judicial Practice. Introduced in 2020, the provision establishes a three-judge committee to examine information supplied by the parties and report periodically to the court. The committee can recommend options, but decisions rest with the full court.
Dirco’s announcement did not specify which action South Africa wanted the court to take beyond securing compliance. It described the dossier as substantial but did not give its length or identify the documents it contained.
South Africa brought the case 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 Hamas and other armed groups.
The ICJ has not delivered a final ruling on whether Israel has committed genocide. Its provisional measures protect rights pending that determination: the court found that Palestinians in Gaza had plausible rights to protection under the convention and faced a real and imminent risk of irreparable harm.
The court issued orders on 26 January, 28 March and 24 May 2024. They required Israel, among other things, to take measures to prevent acts prohibited by the convention, prevent and punish direct and public incitement to genocide, preserve evidence and enable urgently needed humanitarian assistance.
The May order also required Israel to keep the Rafah crossing open for urgently needed assistance and ensure unimpeded access to Gaza for UN-mandated bodies investigating allegations of genocide.
Dirco said Palestinians continued to be killed, displaced and deprived of water, adequate healthcare, medicine and other essentials.
The department cited at least 73,407 Palestinians killed and 174,335 injured since 7 October 2023. These figures match the Gaza health ministry’s reported totals on 19 August, rather than a toll updated to the date of Friday’s statement.
It said an estimated 46,000 survivors, including children, were living with severe conflict-related injuries, including amputations and traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
The department also highlighted the continuing deaths of children despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025.
Unicef reported on 6 August that at least 300 children had reportedly been killed in Gaza during the 300 days since the ceasefire announcement — an average of one a day.
“A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children,” its regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said.
The violence has continued this week. Reuters reported that Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed two children and at least two other Palestinians on 24 August, according to health officials. Israel says its strikes seek to prevent imminent attacks by Hamas and other armed groups.
South Africa’s latest submission follows earlier efforts to secure action through other UN bodies. Dirco said it sent evidence dossiers to the Security Council in May 2024, February 2025 and September 2025, followed by dossiers on starvation to the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council in October last year.
In the main court proceedings, South Africa filed its detailed written case in October 2024 and Israel submitted its response in March this year.
Under the court’s May scheduling order, South Africa has until 22 November 2027 to submit its reply and Israel until 22 May 2029 to file its rejoinder. The presidency has said South Africa’s reply will also address Israel’s objections to the court’s jurisdiction.
Dirco said the provisional measures were intended not only to protect Palestinians but to ensure that the rights at issue were not destroyed before the court could deliver its final decision.
“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.