U.N. chief ‘trusts’ Israel will comply with ICJ order to halt Rafah assault

The International Court of Justice ruled Friday that Israel must “immediately halt” its military operation in Rafah, citing “exceptionally grave” developments there, in a high-profile rebuke of Israel’s war in Gaza.

U.N. chief António Guterres “trusts” that Israel will comply with the ruling, his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Friday.

Although Guterres “has no crystal ball,” Dujarric noted that U.N. member states have a duty under the body’s charter and the World Court’s statutes to abide by the decision.

Orders from the ICJ are legally binding but can be difficult to enforce. Israeli officials indicated that they would continue military operations in Rafah and said allegations by South Africa, which brought the case to the ICJ, that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza are “false, outrageous and disgusting.”

Immediately after the ruling, there were no signs of a pause in fighting, with Palestinians reporting strikes in Rafah while video and images emerged of smoke rising over the city. In a Saturday update, the Israel Defense Forces said “operational activity in specific areas of Rafah” continued on Friday, including “close-quarters combat.”

It is not clear how the ICJ ruling will impact the situation on the ground in Rafah. The court’s orders must be enforced by the U.N. Security Council, whose five permanent members, including the United States, can veto resolutions. And even among the 13 of the 15 judges who voted in favor of a provisional measure, there were some differences in opinion over how the ruling should be interpreted.

South African judge Dire Tladi wrote that the continuation of Israeli military operations in Rafah, with the exception of “legitimate defensive actions … to repel specific attacks,” were not permitted under the order. However, Romanian judge Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu wrote that the order to halt Israel’s military offensive in Rafah only applied “to the extent that it ‘may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.’”

At one point, the majority of Gaza’s population had sought refuge in Rafah, but more than 800,000 have fled the southern city in the past few weeks, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency. Israel’s military operation in the city is taking place despite widespread global criticism.

The Biden administration has not formally responded to the ICJ ruling. The administration has straddled a delicate line on Israel’s military actions in Rafah, stressing its opposition to a full-scale offensive there while also stating that its “red line” has not been crossed – a position that has brought it criticism from lawmakers on both sides.

Friday’s ruling is part of a broader case brought by South Africa, that accuses Israel of violating the Genocide Convention. Israel has rejected the genocide charges and has said its military action is “in accordance with its right to defend its territory and its citizens” and does not breach international law.

South Africa welcomed Friday’s ruling. In a statement, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Palestinians are facing “collective punishment for something for which they have no individual responsibility.”

A spokesperson for Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Ministry called the decision a “positive step” toward safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, wrote on social media Saturday that ICJ orders are binding and must be “fully and effectively implemented.”

What else to know

• Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani agreed to reinstate funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Italian media reported Saturday, months after a number of countries suspended contributions over Israeli allegations that several of UNRWA staff members took part in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7. According to Italian media, Tajani said after a meeting with the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa that his government had approved 35 million euros ($38 million) in additional funding for Palestinians, including 5 million euros for UNRWA, which would be subject to “rigorous checks.”

• Egypt agreed to temporarily lift its ban on aid passing through its territory that would enter Gaza via Israel, Cairo and Washington announced Friday. The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been the main thoroughfare for aid during the war, but that flow has virtually ceased since Israel took control of the Palestinian side earlier this month. Egypt responded by prohibiting international humanitarian aid from transiting its territory on its way to the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, the only other entry point into southern Gaza.

• The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees warned that the border crossing closures have already had a serious impact. “Certain laboratory and dental items and vaccines are out of stock,” with “antibiotics for children and anti-epileptic drugs” also affected, as disruptions at the crossings meant U.N. health centers received no medical supplies for 12 days straight, UNRWA said in a Friday update.

• The U.N. Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution condemning rising attacks on humanitarian workers and agency personnel. The resolution, which did not name any country in particular, demands that “all parties” to a conflict comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. It passed with 14 members voting in favor and Russia abstaining.

• At least 35,903 people have been killed and 80,420 injured in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and says 282 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.

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Cate Brown, Hazem Balousha, Jarrett Ley, Louisa Loveluck and Ellen Francis contributed to this report.