The top United Nations court will rule on Friday on a plea by South Africa to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide".
Pretoria has urged the International Court of Justice to order an "immediate" stop to Israel's campaign, including in the southern area of Rafah, and facilitate humanitarian aid access.
Israel wants the court to toss out the request. In a highly-charged ruling in January, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.
South Africa argues that the recent Israeli operation in Rafah changed the situation on the ground and should compel the court to issue fresh emergency orders.
Bid to arrest Netanyahu
The ICJ rules on disputes between countries. Its orders are legally binding but it has no means to enforce them directly.
Judges could agree to South Africa's request, reject it out of hand or even issue a completely separate set of orders.
The ICJ's ruling comes hot on the heels of a landmark request by the International Criminal Court's lead prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders.
Prosecutor Karim Khan alleges that senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Breaching genocide convention
In public hearings at the ICJ last week, South Africa's ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela alleged that "Israel's genocide has continued apace and has just reached a new and horrific stage".
"Although the present application was triggered by the unfolding situation in Rafah, Israel's genocidal onslaught across Gaza has intensified over the past few days, also warranting the attention of this Court," he said.
South Africa charges the only way to enable humanitarian aid in to ease the crisis in Gaza is a full halt to Israel's military operations.
It wants the court to issue emergency orders -- "provisional measures" in court jargon -- while it weighs the broader South African case that Israel is breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
