Israel has been ordered to immediately halt its offensive in Rafah 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.
Hamas welcomed the International Court of Justice’s decision on Rafah, but said that it does not go far enough, calling for an end to Israel’s offensive in the entire enclave. Meanwhile, Israel has vowed to continue its offensive, and is unlikely to comply with the ruling despite mounting international pressure.
As part of a wider case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, ICJ president Nawaf Salam delivered the ruling of the 15-strong panel of judges at The Hague this afternoon.
Concluding their findings, he said: ‘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. He said that the humanitarian situation in Rafah is now classified as ‘disastrous’, and ordered Israel to open the Rafah border crossing to allow humanitarian aid in.
Judge Salam added that ‘Israel must take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip […] to investigate allegations of genocide’, which they must be allowed to do immediately to prevent possible evidence from being lost.
He said that conditions had been met for new emergency measures and that Israel must report to the court within one month on its progress in applying them. While ICJ rulings are legally binding, in practice they are unenforceable by the court.
Just minutes after the decision was announced, Israeli warplanes reportedly launched a series of airstrikes on the Shaboura camp in the centre of Rafah city, according to eyewitnesses.
In a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, ICJ president Nawaf Salam delivered the ruling of the 15-strong panel of judges at The Hague this afternoon
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 rises during an Israeli air strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 24, 2024
Palestinians, including children, who migrated from Rafah to Deir al-Balah due to Israeli attacks wait in long lines to get clean water
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.
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.
‘I believe it’s a much stronger, in terms of wording, set of provisional measures, very clear call for a cessation,’ Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told public broadcaster SABC.
The Palestinian Authority also praised the decision, saying it represents an international consensus to end the war in Gaza.
An Israeli government spokesman vowed last night that ‘no power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza’.
‘The State of Israel is committed to continue fighting to return its hostages and promise the security of its citizens – wherever and whenever necessary – including in Rafah,’ he said in a statement.
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said demanding his country to stop the war against Hamas would be tantamount to demanding that it decide to cease to exist. ‘Israel will not agree to that,’ he said in a statement.
Responding to the ruling, Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X: ‘The order of the antisemitic court in The Hague should have only one answer – the occupation of Rafah, the increase of military pressure and the crushing of Hamas, until the complete victory in the war is achieved.’
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell What is going to be the [EU’s] answer to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that has been issued today, what is going to be our position? We will have to choose between our support to international institutions of the rule of law or our support to Israel.’
This week alone, three European countries announced they would recognise a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for another court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with top Hamas officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under heavy pressure at home to end the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people, most civilians, and taking some 250 captive.
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
Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home, fearing that time is running out and that more will be found dead.
Immediately after today’s ruling, Netanyahu announced that he would hold a special ministerial meeting to decide how to respond.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition who is often critical of Netanyahu, derided the decision of the ICJ along with the prime minister’s supporters.
‘The fact that the ICJ did not even directly connect the end of the military operation in Rafah to the release of the hostages and to Israel’s right to defend itself against terror is an abject moral failure,’ he said.
The ICJ stated in its ruling that it was ‘deeply troubling’ that Hamas continues to hold Israeli hostages captive, and called for their ‘immediate and unconditional release’.
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 while pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and played music outside.
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 ICJ 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 UN body for hearing disputes between states. Its rulings are final and binding but have been ignored in the past. The court has no police force or enforcement powers.
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.
Displaced Palestinians walk along a devastated street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 24, 2024
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 terrorists stormed into southern Israeli communities on October 7, 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.
