The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled in favour of South Africa’s application for an order instructing Israel to halt its military offensive on Rafah town in Palestine’s Gaza Strip.
In a judgement announced late Friday, the World Court ruled that Israel should immediately halt its military offensive in light of the worsening humanitarian conditions in Rafah.
“In its Order, the Court indicates…(that) 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 judgement read.
The latest ICJ ruling follows an application to the court by South Africa on May 10 in which it sought the modification of earlier provisional measures imposed the World Court on Israel since January this year.
Specifically wanted the court to order Israel to immediately withdraw and cease its military offensive in Rafah and to “take all effective measures to ensure and facilitate the unimpeded access to Gaza of United Nations and other officials engaged in the provision of humanitarian aid”.
The latest application by South Africa came in the wake of the disregard by Israel of previous ICJ rulings on January 26 and March 28.
The Zionist state which has ignored a global outcry and continued to bombard the Palestinian enclave since October 2023 despite several ICJ rulings against such action.
Over the last two weeks, Israel has reduced entire neighbourhoods in Rafah to rubble and forcefully displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
JN/APA