On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered an immediate halt to Israel’s military offensive in Rafah. The court has said that the attack on Gaza’s southernmost city has already displaced more than 800,000 people less than 20 days after it first began its assault. Israeli officials have indicated that they will ignore the ruling, even as their actions continue to garner critical attention across the globe.
In a statement, ICJ President Nawaf Salam said that the court was not convinced by measures that Israel said it had taken to ensure the safety of Palestinian citizens. The panel voted 13 - 2 in favor of the order for Israel to halt its military offensive and for “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’s decision has added to the increasing pressure that Israel now faces, following arrest warrants that were issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar and two others for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Additionally, this month the countries of Norway, Ireland and Spain said that they would recognize the Palestinian state, while Egypt announced that it would seek permission to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ in which Israel has been accused of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Earlier this year, Colombia and Turkiye also asked to join the case which was brought in January.
However, the Biden administration and other US government officials have elected to continue their support of Israel, even as they have expressed opposition to a military campaign in Rafah. The White House announced earlier this month that it would be pausing a shipment of some 3,500 bombs if Israel decided to invade Rafah.
“What we have seen so far in terms of Israel’s military operations in that area has been more targeted and limited, has not involved major military operations into the heart of dense urban areas,” added US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a White House briefing this week.
After returning from a visit to Israel, Sullivan said he had been briefed on changes that Israel had made to their plans in order to better root out Hamas fighters.
“When it comes to Rafah, we’ve made known for a long time our concerns about a full-on military assault of Rafah and the damage that that could do to civilian population absent a clear and credible plan to protect it,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
The day prior, Blinken said the Biden administration would be willing to work with congress on a way to impose sanctions against officials who belong to the ICC.
Rafah has been the last safe zone for many Palestinians fleeing Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip. More than 1 million people first sought refuge there in recent months but more than 800,000 have fled the city since the assault began earlier this month.
Palestinian authorities have reported that over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict first broke out in October. A majority of those who have been killed are believed to be women and children. Cindy McCain, the head of the United Nations World Food Program has also warned that Gaza has now entered a “full-blown famine”.