South Africa has again approached the International Court of Justice, with an urgent plea to issue additional emergency measures and modifications to its earlier order against Israel. It says it may be 'the last opportunity' the court has to save Palestinians in Gaza from famine.

South Africa has made an urgent appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the indication of additional provisional measures and the alteration of the court's order on 26 January, calling on the ICJ to act again now, "before it is too late -- to do what is within its power to save Palestinians in Gaza from genocidal starvation".

In its request, filed on Wednesday, South Africa said it feared that its application "may be the last opportunity that this court shall have to save the Palestinian people in Gaza already dying of starvation, and now 'one step' from famine".

South Africa reminded the ICJ that it had declined to issue additional measures in the Bosnian Genocide case and, within two years, more than 7,000 Bosnians "in the so-called safe area of Srebrenica had been slaughtered, in what this court retrospectively determined to have been a genocide".

It said that the new facts and changes in the situation in Gaza -- particularly that of widespread starvation -- demanded additional and strengthened provisional measures to the ICJ order of 26 January, adding that Israel had shown contempt for the court and its order.

"The demand could not...