ICJ orders Israel to halt assault on Gaza’s Rafah
Judges at the top United Nations (UN) court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, reports Reuters.
Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court, the body’s president Nawaf Salam said provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the situation in Gaza now, and conditions had been met for a new emergency order.
“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive” in Rafah, he said.
The court backed a South African request to order Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, a week after Pretoria called for the measure in a case accusing Israel of genocide.
Reuters reports that outside the court, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and played a rap on a boom box calling for a free Palestine.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza are self-defence and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked Israel on 7 October.
An Israeli government spokesperson said on the eve of Friday’s decision that “no power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza”.
Israel launched its assault on the southern city of Rafah this month, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee a city that had become a refuge to around half of the population’s 2.3 million people.
Rafah, on Gaza’s southern edge, has also been the main route in for aid, and international organisations say the Israeli operation has cut off Gaza and raised the risk of famine.
South Africa’s lawyers asked the ICJ last week to impose emergency measures, saying Israel’s attacks on Rafah must be stopped to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
The court is the highest UN body for hearing disputes between states. Its rulings are final and binding but have been ignored in the past, reports Reuters. The court has no enforcement powers.
South Africa’s wider case at the ICJ accuses Israel of orchestrating a state-led genocide against the Palestinian people. The ICJ has not ruled on the substance of that accusation – it could take years – but has rejected Israel’s demand to throw the case out.
In previous rulings, the court ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and allow aid to flow into Gaza, while stopping short of ordering a halt to Israeli military operations.
Key events
Israel ordered by ICJ to open Rafah border crossing for humanitarian assistance
Israel has been ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to open the Rafah border crossing for humanitarian assistance. It has also ordered Israel to allow access to the Gaza Strip for investigators.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said, to preserve evidence, Israel it must take measures to ensure unimpeded access into the Gaza Strip for inquirers.
The ICJ told Israel that it must submit a report on measures taken within one month.
ICJ orders Israel to halt Rafah military offensive
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to halt its Rafah military offensive.
In its ruling, the world court said it was “not convinced” that the evacuation of Rafah and other measures by Israel are sufficent to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has heard that the humanitarian situation in Rafah has “deteriorated further” since the last court order. In the ruling, which is being read out now, the court is told that the humanitarian situation in Rafah is now classified as “disastrous”.
Reuters reports that there is a panel of 14 permanent judges from countries around the world, plus an extra ad hoc judge appointed by Israel as a party to the case inside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) courtroom in The Hague.
The ruling has begun to be read out. It relates to a request to order Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and withdraw from Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.
The judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague have just filed in and proceedings are about to start. We will update the blog with key developments.
Spain’s labour minister Yolanda Díaz, who used the controversial slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in a video posted on X this week, said on Friday her words were intended to celebrate an attempt to find a peace through a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict and that she was not an antisemite, reports Reuters.
“I do not agree with the politics of hate,” she told reporters in Madrid. “I think it was understood what I was trying to explain in the video, that this is a very important step that we have taken as a country,” she added.
Díaz said: “We’ve always had the same position, the recognition of two states from the river to the sea, which share an economy, which share rights, and which, above all, share a peaceful future.”
According to Reuters, Spain’s foreign minister José Manuel Albares said on Friday that Spain was analyzing Israel’s decision to limit the Spanish consulate’s abilities to serve Palestinians in the West Bank.
“We’re talking about occupied territories recognised by the United Nations. We are analyzing with Norway and Ireland what actions we can take,” he said.
Reuters reports that a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrived outside the court in The Hague, waving flags and playing a rap on a boom box calling for a free Palestine.
You can follow today’s proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) via the live stream in the video at the top of this page.
British police have arrested 16 people at a protest organised by a pro-Palestinian student group at Oxford University.
Thames Valley Police said the individuals were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, with one also held on suspicion of common assault.
It follows protests in recent weeks at more than a dozen UK universities, including at Oxford and Cambridge, after similar action in the United States and elsewhere.
Demonstrators opposed to Israel’s handling of the war against Hamas militants in Gaza have made various demands, including that universities sever academic and financial ties with the country.
Israeli forces intensify attacks in Jabalia and Rafah
Israeli forces intensified their strikes on Gaza with heavy fighting reported in Jabalia in the north and tanks pushing further into Rafah in the south.
Medics said at least five Palestinians were killed when houses were hit in Jabalia and more were believed to be trapped under rubble, but that the area could not be reached due to the intensity of the bombardment, according to a report by Reuters.
In the southern city of Rafah residents reported explosions and smoke rising in the distance as tanks advanced further into the eastern district of Jenina.
Simultaneous Israeli assaults on the northern and southern edges of Gaza this month have caused a new exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes, and have cut off the main access routes for aid, raising the risk of famine.
Residents in Jabalia said tanks had destroyed the local market and bulldozers continued to raze shops and property. Hamas’s armed wing said its fighters had engaged three tanks there.
Tanks also advanced close to the nearby Kamal Adwan hospital, where medics said Israeli fire had caused the suspension of operations at the last functioning medical facility in northern Gaza Strip.
The Brazilian president Lula has said he learned of the death of the Brazilian-Israeli hostage Michel Nisenbaum with “immense sadness” and pledged his solidarity with his family.
He said Brazil will continue to “fight” and “remain engaged in efforts to have all hostages released” and called for a ceasefire and for peace in Israel and Gaza.
The bodies of Nisenbaum, Orión Hernández Radoux and Hanan Yablonka were recovered by Israeli forces last night and all had been missing since the 7 October attack by Hamas.
Soube, com imensa tristeza, da morte de Michel Nisembaum, brasileiro mantido refém pelo Hamas. Conheci sua irmã e filha, e sei do amor imenso que sua família tinha por ele. Minha solidariedade aos familiares e amigos de Michel. O Brasil continuará lutando, e seguiremos engajados…
— Lula (@LulaOficial) May 24, 2024
Some of the food supplies waiting to enter Gaza from Egypt have started rotting with the Rafah border crossing still closed to aid deliveries, Reuters reports.
Rafah was a main entry point for humanitarian relief as well as some commercial supplies before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gaza side of the border on 6 May and took control of the crossing from the Palestinian side. No trucks have passed through the crossing since then.
Egyptian officials say humanitarian operations are at risk from military activity and that Israel needs to hand the crossing back to Palestinians before it starts operating again. Israel and the United States have called on Egypt, which is also worried about the risk of Palestinians being displaced from Gaza, to allow the border to reopen.
One truck driver, Mahmoud Hussein, said his goods had been loaded on his vehicle for a month, gradually spoiling in the sun. Some of the foodstuffs are being discarded, others sold of cheap.
“Apples, bananas, chicken and cheese, a lot of things have gone rotten, some stuff has been returned and is being sold for a quarter of its price,” he said. “I’m sorry to say that the onions we’re carrying will at best be eaten by animals because of the worms in them.”
The amount of aid waiting in Egypt’s northern Sinai is now considerable, said Khaled Zayed, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent in the area.
ICJ set to make new ruling on Israel’s war in Gaza
Here is a short explainer and background on what to expect today from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling:
The ICJ, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in an interim ruling in January but instructed Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocidal acts.
South Africa, which filed the case later formally supported by Israel-Hamas mediator Egypt, argued the ongoing Israeli operation in Rafah should compel the UN court to issue fresh emergency orders.
The case, which Israel says should be dismissed, could add to mounting international pressure for a truce and hostage release more than seven months into the war.
Meanwhile, arrest warrants related to the war are pending at the international criminal court (ICC), and three European countries said they would formally recognise a Palestinian state on Tuesday.
The ICJ is expected to deliver its order on Friday at 3pm CEST (2pm BST).
Israeli forces carried out strikes on Gaza and battled militants on the ground on Friday, as the UN’s top court was due to rule on a plea to halt the military offensive, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Witnesses and AFP correspondents reported overnight air and naval strikes on Gaza City and gunfire to its south.
At least five people were killed when a family home in the city’s al-Daraj neighbourhood was hit, Gaza’s civil defence agency and an emergency doctor at al-Ahli hospital said.
According to AFP, Israeli military reported targeted raids in Jabalia and ongoing activity in central Gaza, and said “troops eliminated dozens of terrorists” in the north.
A Palestinian security source told AFP there were clashes between Israeli forces and militants in the town of Jabalia and its refugee camp, with another source at Kamal Adwan hospital saying it was “out of service, and has 14 medical staff trapped inside”.
Along with al-Awda, Kamal Adwan is one the last two functioning hospitals north of Gaza City, both of which are besieged, according to the World Health Organization.
Other facilities across Gaza are suffering severe shortages of medical supplies and fuel to power generators, according to UN and Palestinian officials.
In a statement on Friday, the Israeli army said its “troops are continuing operations against terror targets” in Rafah, where they had “destroyed weapon storage facilities” and tunnel shafts.
A local Palestinian source told AFP that military vehicles were advancing from eastern Rafah towards the city centre.
US intelligence chief Bill Burns is expected to hold talks in Paris with representatives of Israel in a bid to relaunch talks aimed at finding a truce in Gaza, a western source close to the issue said on Friday, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The visit of the CIA chief to the French capital, expected on Friday or Saturday, comes after Israel gave the green light to the resumption of negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.
Previous talks in Cairo and Doha attended by Qatar and Egypt as mediators for Hamas broke up earlier this month with both Israel and Hamas reportedly unhappy with the conditions of the other side.
According to AFP, it was not immediately clear if representatives of Qatar or Egypt would be present at the Paris talks.
The New York Times said Burns would meet his Israeli counterpart David Barnea, the head of Israel’s the Mossad spy agency.
The US-based Axios news website quoted a source as saying Burns would also meet Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as well as Barnea.
Axios said Israeli negotiators developed in recent days a “new proposal” to renew the hostage talks which includes “some compromises” in Israel’s position compared to the last round of negotiations in Cairo.
Al Jazeera have reported that the governments of 27 members of the Media Freedom Coalition, a partnership of countries working to defend media freedom where it is under threat, have published a statement criticising the shutdown of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel.
According to Al Jazeera, the statement was signed by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US.
The statement said:
A free and diverse media landscape is crucial for democracies to function, especially in times of conflict, as people rely on independent information from multiple, reliable sources to stay informed and make their decisions.
It is essential that all journalists be given unhindered access to cover events and developments as they unfold, so that they have the possibility to report and inform transparently and factually.”
At the start of April Israeli legislators approved a bill paving the way for a ban on Al Jazeera and other international news outlets perceived as posing a threat to security.
“Al Jazeera will no longer be broadcast from Israel,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in a post on X after the law was approved. “I intend to act immediately in accordance with the new law to stop the channel’s activity.”
In response, the Qatar-based broadcaster condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them “a dangerous and ridiculous lie” and saying they were the prime minister’s justification “for the ongoing assault” on the media network and press freedom. In a statement, the network vowed to persist in its reporting with “boldness and professionalism”.
Whistleblowers allege widespread abuses at Israeli detention camp
Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem have written about sources describing Palestinian inmates being beaten, kept shackled to hospital beds or made to stand for hours:
Prisoners held at an Israeli detention camp in the Negev desert are being subjected to widespread physical and mental abuses, with at least one reported case of a man having his limb amputated as a result of injuries sustained from constant handcuffing, according to two whistleblowers who worked at the site.
The sources described harrowing treatment of detainees at the Israeli Sde Teiman camp, which holds Palestinians from Gaza and suspected Hamas militants, including inmates regularly being kept shackled to hospital beds, blindfolded and forced to wear nappies.
According to the two sources, the facility, located approximately 18 miles from the Gaza border, consists of two distinct sections: an enclosure where up to 200 Palestinian detainees from Gaza are confined under severe physical restrictions inside cages, and a field hospital where dozens of patients with war injuries are handcuffed to their beds and often deprived of pain relief.
One whistleblower, who has worked in the facility as a prison guard, said detainees were forced to stand up for hours, or to sit on their knees. The source, who spoke out at risk of reprisals, said several detainees were beaten with truncheons and not able to move their heads or to speak at the facility.
You can read the full report here:
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
