Top UN Court Orders Israel to Halt Rafah Combat Operations

The Netherlands-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on the Israeli government on Friday to immediately halt its military operations in the southern Gaza Strip territory of Rafah. By a 13–2 vote, the top United Nations court ordered Israeli forces to halt “its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate.” This ICJ ruling comes after the government of South Africa requested the court modify its January order for the Israeli government to take precautions to prevent harm to civilians amid its ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip. The South African government had argued that the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip could constitute acts of genocide against the Palestinian people, and had sought an ICJ ordered ceasefire across the territory, which the international court declined in its January order....