Judges at the United Nations’ highest court have ordered Israel to end its offensive in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and withdraw from the enclave, in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, citing an “immense risk” for the Palestinian population.
Friday’s ruling marks the third time this year that the 15-judge panel has issued preliminary orders aimed at limiting the death toll and easing humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Even though the orders are legally binding, the court does not have police to enforce them.
Reading from a ruling by the International Court of Justice, or World Court, the body’s president, Nawaf Salam, said the interim measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the current situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave and that the conditions were met for a new emergency decree.
Israel must “immediately end its military offensive and any other actions in the Rafah governorate that could inflict living conditions on the Palestinian Gaza group that could lead to its physical destruction, in whole or in part,” it said. Salam, calling the humanitarian situation in Rafah “disastrous”.
South African lawyers last week called on the ICJ in The Hague to impose emergency measures, saying Israeli attacks on Rafah must stop to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
Reporting from The Hague, Netherlands, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Step Vaessen said 13 of the ICJ’s 15 judges agreed to call on Israel to end its attack.
“(Salam) said 800,000 people are displaced and he doesn’t believe Israel’s word that they have security and humanitarian access. He said there was no proof of that,” she noted.
“This is why the court issued a very strong order ordering Israel to immediately cease its offensive and military operations in Rafah and to withdraw its troops there. He also ruled on border crossings that they must be reopened as quickly as possible to deliver humanitarian aid,” Vaessen added.
She said the judge also stressed that UN observers must have access as soon as possible to ensure that no evidence of possible war crimes disappears from the region.
The ICJ also ordered Israel to report to it within one month on its progress in implementing the measures ordered by the institution.
Israel launched its assault on the southern town of Rafah this month, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee a town that had become a refuge for about half of the 2.3 million residents.
Rafah, on Gaza’s southern edge, has also been the main aid route, and international organizations say the Israeli operation has isolated the enclave and increased the risk of famine.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Al Khoudary said residents of the Gaza Strip have not yet reacted to the ICJ’s decision because many of them do not have an Internet connection.
“People here in the Gaza Strip are currently trying to feed themselves… after being constantly displaced. So people are not very aware of what is happening. They ask journalists… if there’s anything positive,” she said.
Khoudary added that as journalists in Gaza, they do not want to give false hope to residents of the region and are waiting to hear more information on how the ICJ ruling will be implemented in Rafah, where the situation remains tense.
The Palestinian Authority on Friday welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice, saying it represents an international consensus to end the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeina said , to the Reuters news agency.
Shortly after the decision, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on social media platform X that “the State of Israel is at war for its existence.”
“Those who demand that the State of Israel stop the war demand that it itself decree that it ceases to exist. We will not accept this,” he said.
“We continue to fight for ourselves and for the entire free world. History will judge who stood today alongside the Nazis of Hamas and ISIS (ISIL),” he added.
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Imran Khan said diplomatic sources told Israel’s Channel 13 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would call an emergency meeting.
“Foreign Minister Israel Katz, War Minister Benny Gantz and the government’s judicial advisor will be present at the meeting. That’s how seriously they take this decision,” Khan said.
“We are hearing from political sources speaking in local media that Israel will not respond to the court’s decision, either politically or militarily,” he added.
According to war crimes prosecutor Reed Brody, the ICJ has mobilized to face the reality in the Gaza Strip.
“I’m really impressed, firstly by South Africa’s tenacity and perseverance and their return to the field. And the court responded almost unanimously,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Brody noted that South Africa had been seeking an order for Israel to cease its military offensive since the start of the Gaza war, with the court saying it could not act because Hamas and the Palestinian side were not not present at the bar.
“But that’s what they ultimately chose to do here and that’s a testament to this court and what it does,” he said.
“With the ICC prosecutor’s decision (to recommend arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials), it’s a real legal one-two punch. »
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the highest body of the United Nations responsible for hearing disputes between states. Its decisions are final and binding, but have been ignored in the past.
In a highly controversial ruling in January, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, but stopped short of ordering a halt to the fighting.
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of genocide in the case as baseless, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza were self-defense operations and targeted Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on October 7.