The Hague, Netherlands - South Africa filed an application on Friday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to start proceedings against Israel for what it said were "genocidal" acts in Gaza.

According to a statement, the ICJ claim related to alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, and said that "Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza."

In The Hague application, South Africa also says that Israel has been acting "with the requisite specific intent...to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group."

There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has previously denied charges that its military was using disproportionate force in its brutal assault on Gaza.

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The siege is nearing its twelfth week, with vast areas of northern Gaza in ruins and Israeli air strikes and ground combat focusing on central and southern districts.

Israel's relentless military campaign has killed at least 21,507 people, mostly women and children, since Hamas' October 7 attack – which took place amid decades of Israeli occupation and oppression of Palestinians.

Israel has been designated an apartheid regime by notable human rights organizations and international experts, with Gaza deemed by many to be the world's largest open-air prison.

Cyril Ramaphosa – the president of South Africa, a former apartheid state – has been outspoken in condemning Israeli war crimes in Gaza.