ICJ Directs Israel To Immediately Halt Military Operations In Rafah; Affirms Directions To Protect Palestinians

The International Court of Justice has directed Israel to immediately stop its military offensive operations in Rafah in Palestine. The Court passed the order in an application filed by the Republic of South Africa.

The Court, with a majority of 13:2 votes, directed the following provisional measure :

"The State of Israel shall, in conformity with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by civilians in the Rafah Governorate:

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;"

The Court also directed Israel to  mintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.

Israel has been directed to take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.

The Court also affirmed its earlier provisional measures indicated in orders dated January 26, 2024 and March 28, 2024 whereby Israel was directed to stop the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

It was earlier this month that Israel launched an assault on Rafah that triggered a humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and severing vital aid routes.

Click here to read the order