ICJ orders Israel to halt Rafah military ops in landmark ruling

It also calls for keeping Rafah crossing open for humanitarian aid, release of hostages

CAIRO The top United Nations court on May 24 ordered Israel to halt military operations in the besieged city of Rafah in southern Gaza, a landmark ruling likely to increase the mounting international pressure on Israel.

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 the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court.

It also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing into Gaza for the "unhindered" provision of humanitarian aid, and called for the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct 7 attack on 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," it said.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to the ruling on social media platform X, saying "history will judge those who stand today alongside the Nazis of Hamas Daesh", referring to militant group ISIS.

The Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, welcomed the decision, saying it represents an international consensus to end the war in Gaza.

ICJ rulings are legally binding, but the court has no concrete means to enforce them. For example, it ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, but to no avail.

South Africa brought the case before the ICJ in 2023, alleging that Israel's Gaza offensive breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, a charge strongly denied by Israel.