Gaza war: UN top court orders Israel to halt military operation in Rafah, Netanyahu to meet senior ministers
- The court backed a South African request to order Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, a week after Pretoria called for the measure in a case accusing Israel of genocide
- Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza are self-defence
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire for the enclave.
Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court, the body’s president Nawaf Salam said provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave now, and conditions had been met for a new emergency order.
“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah, he said.
Israel had not explained how it would keep the population safe during an evacuation of Rafah, or provide food, water, sanitation and medicine for the 800,000 Palestinians that had already fled the Israeli advance, he said.
The court also called for the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas in its October 7 assault on Israel.
“The court finds it deeply troubling that many of these hostages remain in captivity and reiterates its call for their immediate and unconditional release,” the International Court of Justice said.
