The International Court of Justice rules that Israel must halt its military offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza. South Africa had asked the ICJ to order it as an emergency measure, saying Israel’s actions in Rafah amount to a “genocidal” operation and threaten the survival of the Palestinian people.
The request forms part of a larger case South Africa has brought before the court about Israel’s actions in Gaza. Israel has previously said the Rafah offensive is key to defeating Hamas following the 7 October attacks and called South Africa’s case “wholly unfounded”.
The ICJ is the top UN court and can make legally binding rulings in disputes between countries, but has little way of enforcing its orders
A Hamas spokesman tells the BBC: “We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice, which demands that the brutal Zionist entity stop its aggression against our people in the city of Rafah.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid says: “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 says that Israel “was brutally attacked from Gaza” and forced to defend itself against Hamas, adding: “There is no country in the world which wouldn’t defend itself against an attack like that.”
Rawr
Article URL : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-69055989