ANKARA 

Iran has supported a lawsuit filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide over its deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Tehran “fully supports the South African government's “responsible, courageous and honorable” action against Israel at the ICJ over its "crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.”

It called on the international community to take “decisive action to bring the perpetrators of the crimes in Gaza to accountability.''

“Iran once again strongly denounces the apartheid Zionist regime’s war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian nation, and expresses its support for resistance as a liberation move and legitimate right recognized by international law for the Palestinian nation in the struggle against occupation,” the statement added.

South Africa filed on Dec. 29 an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the ICJ.

The African country suspended relations with Israel on Nov. 21, in response to its army’s intensified attacks on the Gaza Strip. And later on Dec. 29, it filed a petition with the ICJ to initiate genocidal proceedings against Tel Aviv.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas in which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.

At least 23,357 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 59,410 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of the population is food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of the aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio