The ICJ also demands the “immediate and unconditional release” of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. These orders from the highest UN court come days after the ICC prosecutor requested arrest warrants against the Israeli prime minister and his defense minister, as well as against Hamas leaders.
The UN’s highest court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military offensive in Rafah, a decision likely to add to international pressure for a truce after more than seven months of war. Israel must “immediately stop its military offensive, and any other action carried out in the Rafah governorate, which would be likely to inflict on the group of Palestinians in Gaza living conditions capable of leading to its physical or partial destruction”declared the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which sits in The Hague.
The ICJ also called for the immediate release of those taken hostage by Hamas during its October 7 attack on Israel. The courtyard “considers it deeply worrying that many of these hostages remain in captivity and reiterates its call for their immediate and unconditional release”she declared during a hearing.
Allow “unrestricted” access to humanitarian aid
The court also ordered Israel to keep the Rafah crossing open to allow access “without restriction” to humanitarian aid. The orders of the ICJ, which decides disputes between states, are legally binding but it has no way of enforcing them. Israel had told the court that an imposed ceasefire would allow Hamas fighters to regroup, and would make it impossible to free hostages taken during the attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7.
The ICJ’s decision comes a few days after a historic request from the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Karim Khan has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister and three Hamas leaders for alleged crimes committed in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
South Africa took the case to the ICJ in December, saying Israel’s Gaza offensive violated the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention. The court in January ordered Israel to do all which is in its power to prevent any act of genocide and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Israel accused of “genocide” by South Africa
But Pretoria repeatedly turned to the ICJ again, arguing that the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza required the court to take new emergency measures. Pretoria told the ICJ last week that “the genocide” committed by Israel had reached a “horrible level”, evoking in particular mass graves, acts of torture and a blockage of humanitarian aid. It will take months, if not years, for the court to rule on the merits of the case brought by Pretoria – which accuses Israel of “genocide” in Gaza – but in the meantime it can order urgent measures.
This case is “completely disconnected” of reality and is a “caricature” of the United Nations Genocide Convention which Israel is accused of having violated, Israel retorted. “Calling something a genocide, over and over again, does not make it genocide. Repeating a lie doesn’t make it true., Gilad Noam, deputy attorney general for international affairs for Israel, told the court. Israel also declared that it was “extremely aware” of the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip and that he had deployed “considerable efforts” to increase humanitarian aid.
US President Joe Biden said this week that “what is happening is not genocide”. War has raged between Israel and Hamas since an unprecedented attack launched on October 7, 2023 by commandos of the Palestinian Islamist movement infiltrated from the neighboring Gaza Strip in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people. , mainly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.
Of the 252 people taken as hostages on October 7, 121 are still being held in Gaza, including 37 dead, according to the army. The vast offensive launched in response by Israel ravaged the Gaza Strip, where at least 35,800 people were killed, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the government of the Palestinian territory led by Hamas.
