Israel ordered to halt Rafah offensive

Teh ruling by the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ) cites the “immediate risk” to the Palestinian population in the city which is adjacent to the Egyptian border.

The ICJ also said Israel should open the Rafah birder crossing ti Egypt to allow in humanitarian aid at scale and allow investigators into Gaza.

However, the ruling may have very little effect on Israel’s current plans. While the ICJ’s rulings are legally binding there is little the court can do if Israel ignores it.

Israel had been told to report back to the ICJ within a month to explain how it is meeting the Judgement.

The case was brought by South Africa under the Genocide Convention that came into force in 1951 following the Holocaust of the Jewish people and others during the Second World War.

The ICJ judges said Israel’s evacuation and humanitarian plans had not been sufficient ahead of a move on Rafah.

Judge Nawaf Salam didn’t just focus on Israel’s actions. The ICJ judge said there were “grave concerns” about the fate of hostages Hamas continued to hold and said they should be immediately released.

“We find it deeply troubling that many still remain in captivity,” he adds.

Another three dead hostages were found on Friday morning, local time.

Around 40,000 Palestinian have died in the Israel-Gaza war which was sparked by Hamas’ killing of more than a thousands people in Israel on October 7 and the kidnapping of hundreds more.

More to come.