Palestinians inspect destroyed buildings following an Israeli military attack on Et Tabeen school, a school that was sheltering displaced people, in the Ed Deraji neighborhood of Gaza City. (Mahmoud Issa/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He said the Israeli Foreign Ministry had not presented any evidence to support its claim that Al-Tabain school, attacked on Saturday and killing more than 100 people, served as a “safehouse for Hamas terrorists or the group's commanders.”
“South Africa continues to maintain that there is no legal, ethical or moral justification for the bombing of non-combatants or the destruction of civilian objects,” Phiri said.
“As the occupying power, Israel has an obligation to protect Gaza's civilians. It is inhumane to endanger the lives of Palestinians fleeing intense bombardment and gunfire.”
South Africa's Director General for International Relations, Zane Dangar, suggested that South Africa's legal team will use the attack as evidence of a continuing disregard for the safety of Gaza civilians when they submit an affidavit to the International Court of Justice in October in a case accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Dangar stressed that the court has issued four interim orders against Israel while it considers the application, but that it could take years for a ruling to be issued.
In May, the court ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operations in Rafah, southern Gaza. South Africa hailed the ruling as a landmark, but Israel has rejected it and other interim orders, arguing that its military attacks are in accordance with international law.
“These orders are binding in nature, so our legal team is looking at that, but also the fact that we have to file a statement in October on the nature of the litigation,” Dangar said.
He added that South Africa was “considering possibly going down the Security Council route and our teams are already in negotiations with various delegations in New York.”
Dangar said South Africa hoped that Algeria, the Arab representative on the UN Security Council, would revive a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Algeria, a non-permanent member of the Security Council, confirmed on Saturday that it had requested an emergency meeting of the council following the attack on Al-Tabain school.
