Israel has been ordered to halt its Rafah offensive by judges at the UN’s top court who said they are ‘not convinced’ that the IDF has taken sufficient measures to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice, read the ruling in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.
‘The court considers that in conformity with the obligations under the Genocide Convention, Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.’
He described how what was already a ‘catastrophic situation’ in Rafah has ‘deteriorated further’ since the last court order was made in March, and added that the humanitarian situation in Rafah is now classified as ‘disastrous’.
Judge Salam added that ‘Israel must take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip […] to investigate allegations of genocide’. He also ordered Israel to open the Rafah border crossing to allow humanitarian aid in.
He added that conditions had been met for new emergency measures and said that Israel must report to the court within one month on its progress in applying them.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza amount to self-defence and are targeted at Hamas terrorists who stormed across the Israel-Gaza border on October 7.
Israel is unlikely to comply with the ruling. While ICJ rulings are legally binding, in practice they are unenforceable by the court.
Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice, delivered the verdict of the court
A lone demonstrator waves the Palestinian flag outside the Peace Palace, rear, housing the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague
Smoke billows during Israeli bombardment in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas
An injured Palestinian boy stands next to the rubble of a family house that was hit overnight in Israeli bombardment in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah in southern Gaza on Monday
The panel of 14 permanent judges from countries around the world, plus an extra ad hoc judge appointed by Israel as a party to the case, took their places inside the courtroom in The Hague
The court did not call for a full cease-fire throughout Gaza as South Africa, which brought the case, had requested at hearings last week, however Pretoria welcomed what it called the ‘stronger’ ICJ order to Israel.
The panel of 14 permanent judges from countries around the world, plus an extra ad hoc judge appointed by Israel as a party to the case, took their places inside the courtroom in The Hague earlier this afternoon.
Outside, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and played music calling for a free Palestine.
An Israeli government spokesman said on the eve of today’s decision that ‘no power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza’.
Israel launched its assault on the southern city of Rafah this month, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee a city that had become a refuge to around half of the population’s 2.3 million people.
Rafah, on Gaza’s southern edge, has also been the main route in for aid, and international organisations say the Israeli operation has cut off the enclave and raised the risk of famine.
South Africa’s lawyers asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague last week to impose emergency measures, saying Israel’s attacks on Rafah must be stopped to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the highest U.N. body for hearing disputes between states. Its rulings are final and binding but have been ignored in the past. The court has no enforcement powers.
A decision against Israel could heap more diplomatic pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court – a separate court also based in The Hague – announced on Monday he had filed an application for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as leaders of Hamas.
Prosecutor Karim Khan accused Netanyahu and Gallant of crimes including extermination, using hunger as a weapon and deliberately attacking civilians. Israel strongly denied those charges and called on allies to repudiate the court.
South Africa’s wider case at the ICJ accuses Israel of orchestrating a state-led genocide against the Palestinian people. The ICJ has not ruled on the substance of that accusation – it could take years – but has rejected Israel’s demand to throw the case out.
In previous rulings, the court ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and allow aid to flow into Gaza, while stopping short of ordering a halt to Israeli military operations.
Israel launched its air and ground war on Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says.
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