In a landmark emergency ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The ruling was made in response to a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide. While the ICJ has no means to enforce its orders, the ruling is a stark sign of Israel’s global isolation over its campaign in Gaza.
The ICJ president, Nawaf Salam, read out the ruling, stating that the situation in Gaza had deteriorated since the court last ordered Israel to take steps to improve it, and conditions had been met for a new emergency order. The court ordered Israel to:
- Immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governorate that may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
- Open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to let in aid
- Provide access for investigators
- Report back on its progress within one month
The order was adopted by a vote of 13-2, with only the judges from Uganda and Israel opposing.
South Africa hailed the ruling as groundbreaking, while the White House stated, “We’ve been clear and consistent on our position on Rafah.” The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority said the ruling represented a global consensus that the war must end but did not go far enough as it did not halt fighting in other parts of Gaza.
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Senior Hamas official Basem Naim called on the UN Security Council to implement the demand and compel Israel to comply. However, Israelis responded with outrage, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stating that those demanding Israel stop the war were also demanding that it cease to exist, which Israel would not agree to. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the order “a moral collapse and a moral disaster” for failing to link the demand to halt fighting to a demand that Hamas free hostages.
The ICJ is the highest UN body for hearing disputes between states, and its rulings are final and binding, although it has no enforcement powers. Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing that its operations in Gaza are self-defence and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked Israel on October 7.
The ruling comes a week after South Africa requested an emergency order to halt the fighting in Rafah, which has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee and raised the risk of famine. Israel says Rafah has served as the last redoubt for thousands of Hamas fighters and their senior commanders, and it cannot achieve its war aim of wiping out the Islamist militant group and rescuing its hostages without storming the city.
The ICJ has repeatedly held back from taking steps to halt the wider war in the Gaza Strip, although South Africa has sought an order for Israel to end its entire war in Gaza. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has also filed an application for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as leaders of Hamas, accusing them of crimes including extermination, using hunger as a weapon, and deliberately attacking civilians.
