ICJ orders Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah and Gaza in new decision | Israel-Palestine conflict news

Judges at the United Nations’ top court ordered Israel to suspend its offensive on the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, and withdraw from the enclave, in a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.

Friday’s ruling marked the third time this year that the 15-judge panel issued preliminary orders aimed at containing the death toll and alleviating humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Although the orders are legally binding, the court has no police to enforce them.

Reading a decision from the International Court of Justice or World Court, the body’s president, Nawaf Salam, said that the provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave and that the conditions were met for a new emergency . order.

Israel must “immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah province that could inflict living conditions on the Palestinian group in Gaza that could provoke its physical destruction, in whole or in part,” Salam said, and called on the the humanitarian situation in Rafah is “disastrous”.

South African lawyers asked the 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.

Reporting from The Hague, Netherlands, Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen said 13 of the 15 ICJ judges agreed to call on Israel to stop its attack.

“[Salam] said 800,000 are displaced and that he does not believe Israel’s word that they will receive security and humanitarian access. He said there was no evidence of that,” she noted.

“That is why the court has now issued a very strong order for Israel to immediately stop its offensive and military operation in Rafah and withdraw its troops from there. He also decided on border crossings, which must be reopened as soon as possible for humanitarian aid to enter,” added Vaessen.

She said the judge also emphasized that UN observers must be granted access as quickly as possible to ensure that no evidence of possible war crimes disappears from the region.

The ICJ also ordered Israel to submit a report to the court within one month on its progress in implementing the measures ordered by the institution.

Israel this month launched its attack on the southern city of Rafah, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee a city that has become a refuge for about half of the country’s 2.3 million inhabitants.

Rafah, on the southern edge of Gaza, 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, Al Jazeera’s Hind Al Khoudary said people in the Gaza Strip have not yet reacted to the ICJ’s decision as 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 are asking journalists… if there is anything positive,” she said.

Khoudary added that as journalists in Gaza, they do not want to give false hope to people in the region and are waiting for more information on how the ICJ ruling will be implemented in Rafah, where the situation remains intense.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision taken on Friday by the International Court of Justice, saying it represents an international consensus to end the war in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told the news agency Reuters.

Shortly after the decision, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich he 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 decree that it cease to exist. We will not agree to this,” he said.

“We continue to fight for ourselves and the entire free world. History will judge who today supported the Nazis of Hamas and ISIS,” he added.

Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan said diplomatic sources told Israel’s Channel 13 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will call an emergency meeting.

“Foreign Minister Israel Katz, War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz and the government’s judicial advisor will be present at the meeting. This is how seriously they are taking this decision,” Khan said.

“We are hearing from political sources telling 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 stepped up to confront the reality in the Gaza Strip.

“I’m really impressed, firstly, by South Africa’s tenacity and perseverance and their return to court. And the court responded almost unanimously,” he told Al Jazeera.

Brody noted that South Africa has been asking for an order for Israel to stop its military offensive since the start of the war in Gaza, with the court saying it cannot take any action because Hamas and the Palestinian side are not present in the testimony.

“But that’s what they ultimately chose to do here and it’s a testament to this court and what it does,” he said.

“Together with the decision of the ICC prosecutor [to recommend arrest warrants against top Israeli officials]It’s a real cool double whammy.”

The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the UN’s highest body for hearing disputes between states. Its decisions are final and binding, but have been ignored in the past.

In a highly charged ruling in January, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, but stopped short of ordering a halt to fighting.

Israel has repeatedly rejected the genocide allegations in the case as unfounded, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza are self-defense and target Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on October 7.