Judges at the top United Nations court have ordered Israel to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, citing “exceptionally grave” conditions.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), or World Court, said that provisional measures it ordered in March did not fully address the situation in the besieged Palestinian territory now and conditions had been met for a new emergency order.
“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah, the court’s President Nawaf Salam said.
It backed a South African request to order Israel to halt its offensive in the southern city, a week after Pretoria called for the measure in a case accusing Israel of genocide.
Outside the court, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and called for a free Palestine.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing that its operations in Gaza are self-defence and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked the country on 7 October.
An Israeli government spokesman said ahead of the court’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 Rafah earlier 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 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 last week to impose emergency measures, saying Israel’s attacks on the city must be stopped to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
The 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 enforcement powers.
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What is South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ?
The decision against Israel could put 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 that he had filed an application for arrest warrants against Mr Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as leaders of Hamas.
Prosecutor Karim Khan accused President Netanyahu and Mr 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 court 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 ICJ ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against 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, killing 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive in Gaza, its health ministry said.
