AA / London / Burak Bir – Beyza Binnur Donmez
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to immediately suspend its military offensive against Rafah, which began on May 6 against the city in the south of the Gaza Strip.
“Israel must immediately suspend its military offensive or any other action in the Rafah governorate that could inflict living conditions on the Palestinian group in Gaza that could lead to its physical destruction in whole or in part,” said Lebanese judge Nawaf Salam , President of the ICJ, reading the order relating to additional provisional measures requested by South Africa in the ongoing genocide case against Israel.
The ICJ said the modification of its March 28 order was due to the change in circumstances due to the offensive on Rafah, where displaced Palestinians had taken refuge after the start of the war on October 7, 2023. According to the ICJ agencies According to the United Nations, more than 800,000 people have since fled the city due to the ground invasion.
The decision indicates that Israel has not “sufficiently addressed and allayed” concerns raised by its military operation in Rafah.
The ICJ also called on Israel to keep the Rafah border crossing open to allow unhindered access to basic services and humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The Hague-based court ordered Tel Aviv to submit a report within a month on the measures taken following the latest order.
Regarding the Israeli hostages, the ICJ “considers it deeply worrying that many of these hostages remain in captivity and reiterates its call for their immediate and unconditional release.”
Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and its population have led to the forced displacement of around 1.9 million Palestinians within the besieged enclave, including 1.4 million who have sought refuge in the cut-off town of Rafah. two via the Philadelphia Road, a security corridor that marks the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Israel continues its war declared on October 7 against the Hamas movement, despite the Attorney General of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requesting the issuance of international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity,” and despite a resolution adopted by the Security Council calling for an “immediate ceasefire.”
*Translated from English by Mounir Bennour.
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