CAIRO: South Africa says it has lodged an “urgent request” with the International Court of Justice to consider whether Israel's military operations targeting the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip constitute a breach of the provisional orders the court handed down in the genocide case last month.

South Africa made the announcement on Tuesday and said in a statement that it had asked the court to weigh whether Israel's indication that it would launch a ground offensive in Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians have fled to escape fighting, represents a “further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza”.

The International Court of Justice handed down a preliminary ruling last month in South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

The ruling ordered Israel to do all it could do prevent the deaths of Palestinian civilians.