South Africa's ties to Hamas, Iran exposed amid financial troubles, genocide case against Israel

With the International Court of Justice having ruled Friday on South Africa's accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, the case is bringing to light questions regarding Pretoria's relations with Hamas and Iran, as well as the country's serious financial troubles and corruption allegations.

The entire country of South Africa struggles with financial difficulties, with an estimated poverty rate of 62.6% in 2022, according to the World Bank. Additionally, due to a lack of maintenance on coal-fired power plants, residents were left without power for up to 10 hours a day in the first few months of 2023, according to the U.S. State Department. Rolling blackouts decreased to six hours a day by April, per The Associated Press, but some U.S. analysts have predicted that South Africa is still at risk of suffering an energy grid collapse and service failure, including water treatment.