The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its military assault on Rafah, describing the humanitarian situation in the southern Gaza city, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are sheltering, as “disastrous”.
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”, the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) president, Nawaf Salam, said.
The emergency measures were ordered on the request of South Africa as part of its genocide case against Israel.
The ICJ has ordered Israel to report back to the court within a month about its progress in applying measures ordered by the institution. It has also ordered Israel to reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt for humanitarian assistance.
Here are some reactions from leaders and organisations across the world:
Palestinian Authority spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh
“The presidency welcomes the decision issued by the International Court of Justice, which represents an international consensus on the demand to stop the all-out war on Gaza,” Rudeineh said.
Hamas official Basam Naim
Naim said Hamas welcomed the decision by the World Court “that calls on the Zionist occupation forces to end its military aggression on Rafah”.
He added that the group also welcomes the court’s request to allow investigators into the Gaza Strip to probe “acts of genocide against the Palestinian people and Hamas pledges to cooperate with investigation committees”.
Naim said Hamas also calls on the UN Security Council to immediately implement the ICJ’s demands.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
Shortly after the ICJ ruling, Smotrich wrote on the social media platform X: “Those who demand that the State of Israel stop the war, demand that it decree itself to cease to exist. We will not agree to…
Post from www.aljazeera.com