The UN’s top court has ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafa, saying the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory was “disastrous.”
The ruling read by judge Nawaf Salam at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday in The Hague was in response to an urgent application submitted by South Africa.
According to the court, South Africa justified its application to the ICJ by arguing that the court’s previous measures in connection with the Gaza war were inadequate.
While the court’s rulings are binding, it has no means of forcing compliance.
It can, however, call on the UN Security Council to act.
