Spain has announced its support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), following a recent Israeli airstrike on a United Nations school in Gaza that reportedly killed at least 35 people.
On Thursday, June 6, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced that Spain would join the case. “We made this decision in light of the continuation of the military operation in Gaza,” Albares said.
The airstrike occurred in the early hours of Thursday at al-Sardi school, located in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The school, run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa), was sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinians who had fled ongoing fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
Local journalists reported that a warplane fired two missiles at classrooms on the top floor of the school. Maha Issa, a woman staying at the school with her family, recounted to the Associated Press, “I heard five missiles hitting the school. I went out, running, and found the fire burning in three classrooms.” Videos shared on social media showed extensive destruction, with bodies wrapped in white shrouds and blankets.
Gaza’s health ministry reported that 40 people were killed, including 14 children and 9 women, with 74 others injured. An official at al-Aqsa hospital, where many of the dead and wounded were taken, confirmed the same death toll. Unrwa’s Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini, stated, “At least 35 people were killed and many more injured.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed responsibility for the strike, stating it was a “precise strike on a Hamas compound embedded inside an Unrwa school in the area of Nuseirat.” An annotated aerial photograph provided by the IDF highlighted classrooms on the upper floors as the “locations of the terrorists.” Lt Col Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesman, asserted, “I’m not aware of any civilian casualties and I’d be very, very cautious of accepting anything that Hamas puts out.”
However, Unrwa officials and Gaza’s Hamas-run government denied these claims. Philippe Lazzarini described the incident as “horrific” and expressed shock at the suggestion that armed groups might have been inside the shelter. He emphasized, “UN staff, premises, and operations must be protected at all times.”
In response to the ongoing conflict, which has resulted in over 36,650 deaths in Gaza according to health ministry figures, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the ICJ on December 29, 2023. The case accuses Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention, arguing that Israel’s military operations in Gaza amount to acts of genocide.
Several countries have joined or declared their intention to join the case, including:
Nicaragua (February 8), Belgium (March 11), Colombia (April 5), Turkey (May 1), Libya (May 10), Egypt (May 12), Maldives (May 13), Mexico (May 24), Ireland (May 28), Chile (June 2), Palestine (June 3), Spain (June 6).
The incident at the UN school and the broader conflict have spurred global outrage and renewed calls for a ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden recently outlined a proposal for a temporary truce, followed by a permanent cessation of hostilities. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on defeating Hamas before agreeing to a permanent ceasefire.
