International Court of Justice orders Israel to halt attacks on Rafah
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt its military attacks on Rafah.
The ICJ announced its ruling on the Republic of South Africa's request for additional precautionary measures in the "genocide" case against Israel, including the suspension of Israel's military operations against Rafah.
The President of the Court, Lebanese judge Nawaf Salam, read out the court's judgements in a public session.
The situation in Gaza has deteriorated
It was stated in the resolution that the situation in Gaza has seriously deteriorated since the resolution on 26 January, especially in terms of access to food and the humanitarian situation, and that the humanitarian situation would deteriorate catastrophically if Israeli attacks on Rafah continued.
The resolution stated that Israel launched a military offensive in Rafah on 7 May after weeks of intense shelling, resulting in the displacement of approximately 800,000 Palestinians in Rafah as of 18 May 2024.
The resolution pointed out that senior United Nations (UN) officials have consistently underlined that a military operation against Rafah entails great risks, and recalled the warnings of UN sources that the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe for Palestinians in Gaza was beginning to materialise.
Israel fails to convince the Court of the safe evacuation of civilians
Emphasising that Israel failed to convince the Court of the safe evacuation of civilians in Rafah, where Israel launched a military operation, the judgement said: "The Court is not convinced that the measures (taken by Israel) are sufficient to mitigate the grave risk to the Palestinian people as a result of the military attack in Rafah."
The court said that Israel failed to provide sufficient information on the availability of water, sanitation, food, medicine and shelter for the 800,000 Palestinians evacuated from the Mavasi area to date.
The resolution stated that Israel had not adequately addressed the concerns raised by its military offensive in Rafah and failed to address the potential dangers.
Existing precautionary measures need to be modified
The decision stated that the Court's previous injunction of 28 March should be modified due to the danger of humanitarian catastrophe faced by Palestinians trapped in Rafah.
Noting that the humanitarian situation in Gaza under Israeli attacks has worsened and that new measures are needed, the Court ordered Israel to immediately halt its military attacks on the city of Rafah.
Secondly, the Court asked Israel to keep the Rafah border crossing open to allow unhindered access to urgently needed services and humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The ICJ also ordered Israel to take effective measures to ensure unhindered access to the Gaza Strip for experts appointed by UN authorised bodies to investigate allegations of genocide, and ordered Israel to report to the Court within one month on all measures to be taken.
