UN’s top court orders “immediate halt” to Israeli operations in Rafah

The United Nations’ top court has ordered Israel to halt its operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and withdraw from the enclave, CNN reported.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) situated in The Hague, Netherlands gave the order on Friday, in the case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.
“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah Governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” said Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Notably, the decision marks the third time this year, the 15-judge panel has issued preliminary orders seeking to rein in the death toll and alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza.
However, it is pertinent to note that while orders are legally binding, the court has no police to enforce them.
The court stated that the humanitarian situation in Gaza had deteriorated “even further” since the court last ordered provisional measures in March.
“The humanitarian situation is now to be characterized as disastrous,” Salam said.
The ICJ noted that around 8,00,000 Palestinians had been displaced from Rafah as of May 18, after Israel began its military offensive on May 7.
Israel had warned civilians in parts of the city to evacuate ahead of its operation, but the court said these efforts were not “sufficient to alleviate the immense risk to which the Palestinian population is exposed as a result” of Israel’s incursion, as reported by CNN.
The court also expressed grave concern over the fate of the hostages abducted by Hamas and other armed groups in the October 7 attacks in 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 ICJ said in its ruling on Friday.
Israel launched its assault on the southern city of Rafah this month, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee a city that had become a refuge to about half of the population’s 2.3 million people, Al Jazeera reported.
Rafah, on Gaza’s southern edge, 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.
ICJ has also ordered Israel to submit a report within one month on progress related to measures ordered by the UN’s top court.
The court said Israel must take effective measures to ensure access to fact-finding missions and investigative bodies from the United Nations to investigate “allegations of genocide” and to open the Rafah border crossing for humanitarian assistance.
Judge Nawaf Salam, said officials in the United Nations indicated that the situation was set to “intensify even further” if the Israeli “operation continues” in Rafah.
Israel has strongly condemned the ICJ order. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting on a phone call with the members of his cabinet on the ICJ ruling, CNN reported.
Israel’s Foreign Minister, the Minister of Strategic affairs, the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Defense, the head of the National Security Council and the Attorney General took part in the meeting.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said those who “demand that the State of Israel stop the war” are by proxy demanding that Israel “decree itself to cease to exist.”
“We will not agree to that… If we lay down our weapons, the enemy will reach the beds of our children and women throughout the country,” Smotrich said in a statement.
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also criticised the order calling the ICJ “antisemitic”.
“The irrelevant order of the anti-Semitic court in The Hague should have only one answer: the occupation of Rafah, the increase of military pressure and the complete defeat of Hamas – until complete victory in the war is achieved,” he said.
In a highly-charged ruling in January, the ICJ ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent “genocidal acts” in Gaza but stopped short of ordering a halt in the fighting, Al Jazeera reported.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide as “baseless”, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza are “self-defence” and targeted at Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on October 7.