ICJ Orders Israel to Halt Rafah Military Operations

The International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operations in Rafah and release all remaining hostages held by Palestinian militants. The ruling comes over seven months into the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

The UN's top court, whose orders are legally binding, also demanded Israel keep open the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which it had closed during its Rafah assault earlier this month. The orders precede separate meetings in Paris between the CIA chief and Israeli representatives, as well as French President Macron and Arab foreign ministers on the Gaza conflict.

In its ruling, the ICJ stated Israel must "immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah that may inflict conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza that could bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part." Israel was ordered to "maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered humanitarian aid."

The court expressed deep concern that "many of these hostages remain in captivity" and reiterated calls for their "immediate and unconditional release." Israel had argued stopping military activity would prevent rescuing hostages taken on October 7, but far-right ministers criticized the ruling.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN  hailed the International Court of Justice's order for Israel to halt military operations in Rafah, and called for Israel to abide by the ruling immediately.

"We welcome these provisional measures including stopping the military operation in Rafah," Riyad Mansour told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

"We expect that resolutions of the ICJ will be implemented without hesitation. That's mandatory. And Israel is a party to the convention."

Hamas welcomed the ruling, though regretted it applied only to Rafah, not all of Gaza.