Urgent appeal successful

International Court of Justice wants to stop Israel

In an urgent application to the ICJ in The Hague, South Africa demanded that the Israeli military withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

(Bild: AFP/Nick Gammon)

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to halt the controversial offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has continued to deteriorate, the court declared on Friday. It is now "catastrophic" in Rafah.

South Africa had submitted the application to the ICJ. It is part of a broader lawsuit filed by the country in which Israel is accused of genocide. In an initial reaction, Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that anyone calling on Israel to end the war was calling on the country to end its existence. Israel would not agree to this. 

The Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, welcomed the ICJ's decision. The ruling represents an "international consensus" that the war in the Gaza Strip must end, said a spokesperson for the authority.

"No power in the world" should stop Israel
Israel has rejected the accusations to the end. The government in Jerusalem had previously declared that "no power in the world" would prevent it from protecting its own citizens and taking action against the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Decision not binding
Decisions of the World Court are binding. However, the UN judges do not have the power to force a state to implement them. They can, however, call on the UN Security Council to take action in the matter. All member states of the court are obliged to respect the decisions of the Security Council.

However, it seems at least questionable whether the USA would waive its right of veto in the event of a corresponding resolution on Israel's withdrawal from Rafah.

Fighting continues
Meanwhile, the Israeli army advanced deeper into Rafah with tanks. Residents spoke of clouds of smoke and explosions. Medics reported heavy fighting in Jabalia in the north of the Palestinian territory. At least five people were killed when houses that had been hit collapsed, and more are suspected to be under the rubble. According to residents, the local market was destroyed. Bulldozers were tearing down stores and other buildings in the northern city, it was reported.

Many children in the Gaza Strip affected
The number of people seeking shelter in Rafah is increasing daily, SOS Children's Villages emphasized in a press release on Friday. The SOS Children's Village in Rafah is currently the "only place in Gaza that offers round-the-clock protection and care to children who have lost their families in the war", said Christian Moser, Managing Director of SOS Children's Villages Austria.

225 people, including children who were already in the care of SOS Children's Villages before the war, employees and internally displaced persons are currently living in the Children's Village on the Israeli-Egyptian border.