South Africa, which endured decades of human rights abuses under a past apartheid regime, is all too familiar with the horrors of oppression and is right to seek to hold Israel to account. When addressing the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Jan. 11, it accused Israel of four counts of genocidal acts enumerated in the 1947 Genocide Convention, which was created to prevent anything like the Holocaust from ever happening again.

At The Hague, the South African legal team accused Israel of engaging in a “pattern of genocidal conduct” in its military campaign in Gaza in retaliation for deadly terror attacks and kidnappings by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

“This killing is nothing short of destruction of Palestinian life. It is inflicted deliberately, no one is spared, not even newborn babies,” the court heard.

Israel has also stopped providing water and electricity to the territory and has prevented much-needed humanitarian aid from reaching those in need. The death toll from the air and land strikes has exceeded 23,000, including women and children, not to mention those who have died of disease and starvation. Thousands of people have been forced to flee Gaza because of the incessant bombardments.

A brief cease-fire was arranged to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need in late November 2023, but it was business as usual afterward, with the Israel Defense Forces wreaking havoc on more homes and essential public infrastructure in Gaza.

International efforts to stop the brutality have been met with defiance from right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Not even a landslide United Nations vote in December for an immediate cease-fire made a difference.

As the Gaza war surpassed 100 days of fighting on Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his call for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.

Across the globe, pressure has mounted on Israel to give peace a chance. Hundreds of thousands of people in many parts of the world, including Indonesia, took to the streets as part of a “global day of action for Palestine” on Sunday to call for an end to the bloodshed.

Pressure also came from 384 legislators around the world, including members of the United States Congress and the British and German parliaments, who signed a joint statement urging an immediate cease-fire and asking their governments to seek accountability for “grave violations of human rights” in Gaza.

If a world referendum were allowed to decide on Israel’s war in Gaza, the conflict would unquestionably be brought to a swift end. But the international order does not work that way. The best option available is to step up pressure on Israel and its allies, in particular the US, whose reputation is at risk for defending an ally that is waging a dirty war.

While largely symbolic, South Africa’s case against Israel deserves support, as in one way or another, it will add to global pressure on Israel. Indonesia, a staunch advocate for Palestinian independence, is not a signatory to the Genocide Convention but has demonstrated its support, albeit informally, for the legal effort.

In a similar case related to the Bosnian War, it took the ICJ 14 years to find Serbia and Montenegro guilty of breaching their obligation to prevent genocide under the Genocide Convention. It may also take the court years to adjudicate the genocide accusations leveled against Israel, but the international trial still has merit in helping to prevent any genocidal acts, whether committed by Israel or other states, from occurring in the future.