ICJ orders Israel to 'immediately halt' offensive in Rafah

Nearly two dozen charities, including, Oxfam and Medical Aid for Palestinians, welcome the International Court of Justice's Friday ruling that orders Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah.

The ICJ made the ruling after previously ordering other measures in January and March. These measures are interim as the UN's top court hears South Africa's case accusing Israel of engaging in "genocidal acts" in Gaza.

"The UK must now do everything in its power to ensure that Israel complies with its obligations under international law, including in respect of all of the measures ordered by the ICJ," the 22 charities say in a statement.

"The Israeli government has already failed to comply with the ICJ’s orders, and the UK must urgently use every available lever to ensure its compliance, urgently halt Israel’s assault on Rafah, and demand an immediate and lasting ceasefire.

"This includes suspending arms transfers to Israel for as long as there is a risk they may be used to violate international law.

"The UK must uphold its signatory obligations under the convention to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, and must ensure that it is in no way enabling, or otherwise complicit, in the commission of acts that the Court has found could plausibly be in violation of the Genocide Convention."

The full list of charities that signed the statement are: Action for Humanity, Action Aid UK, Amos Trust, Caabu (Council for Arab-British Understanding), CAFOD, Christian Aid, Embrace the Middle East, Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS), Humanity First UK, Interpal, Lady Fatemah Charitable Trust, Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, Oxfam, Omega Research Foundation, Plan International UK, Protection Approaches, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), Quakers in Britain, SCIAF, SOS Children's Villages UK, Welfare Association, and War on Want.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated President Joe Biden position on "a major Rafah operation" when he spoke with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz on Friday, the American State Department said.

Blinken also discussed importance of Israel and Egypt concluding talks to reopen Rafah the crossing as soon as possible, the department said in a statement.

(Reuters)

Irish Foreign Minister Michéal Martin welcomes the additional provision measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, calling the orders "crystal clear".

"Universally, partners have urged Israel not to proceed with its offensive in Rafah and to ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access in Gaza," he says in a statement posted to X.

"Israel has chosen to disregard these requests but it cannot choose to disregard the orders from the International Court of Justice. These are legally binding. They must be complied with."

I welcome the further provisional measures ordered today by the International Court of Justice in the South Africa vs Israel case.

My full statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jt5MHWXOVV

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) May 24, 2024

France's president, Qatar's prime minister, and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan held talks on Friday on the Gaza war and ways to set up a Palestinian state alongside Israel, the French presidency said.

French President Emmanuel Macron organised the meeting amid growing international concerns over Israel's war on Gaza. It came a few hours after the UN's top court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the Gazan city of Rafah.

Efforts to revive a "two-state" solution and humanitarian efforts for Gaza dominated the talks.

The officials discussed "all the levers that could be activated in order to obtain the reopening of all crossing points" into Gaza, said an Elysée palace statement.

The five countries also discussed how to "increase and deepen their cooperation" and "the effective implementation of the two-state solution, the only effective way to guarantee the peace and security of the state of Israel and to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians", the statement added.

Macron and France's Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné were joined at the meeting by Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and foreign ministers Sameh Shoukry of Egypt, Ayman Safadi of Jordan, and Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the Elysée said.

The French leader reaffirmed his opposition to Israel's offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah, and new settlements in the occupied West Bank. He also called for an "immediate" ceasefire with the release of "all hostages" in Gaza.

US Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns was expected in Paris for reported talks with Israel on a potential ceasefire. Qatar and Egypt have been intermediaries between Israel and Hamas in past efforts to establish a ceasefire.

Humanitarian food and fuel shipments may start coming into southern Gaza via Israel's Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing as early as Friday evening, Egyptian security sources said, following an agreement reached between the presidents of Egypt and the United States.

Egypt was coordinating with Israel on the aid, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi earlier on Friday agreed to temporarily send aid to the United Nations in Gaza via the crossing in southern Israel near the Egyptian border, Egypt's presidency said in a statement.

"This will help save lives," the White House said in a statement.

The shipments will pass through Karm Abu Salem until legal mechanisms are in place to reopen the nearby Rafah border crossing from the Palestinian territory's side, the Egyptian presidency said. The crossing connects southern Gaza with Egypt.

Biden welcomed Egypt's commitment to allow the aid into Gaza, and told Sisi during a phone call he supported efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing under terms acceptable to both Egypt and Israel, the White House said in a statement. The US will send a senior team to Cairo next week for talks.

The Palestinian presidency, which exercises limited power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, also agreed to the joint decision following consultations with Egyptian officials, the Palestinian presidency said in a statement.

(Reuters)

The Israeli army said Friday it had opened an investigation after images were posted on social media showing what appeared to be an Israeli soldier in Gaza burning books, possibly including a copy of the Quran.

"An investigation was opened by the military police criminal investigation division," the army told AFP in response to questions about the images.

"The behaviour of the soldier in the video is not consistent with [Israeli military] values," it said, adding that the military "respects all religions and categorically condemns such behaviour".

The viral video, the authenticity of which AFP had not yet been able to verify on Friday evening, shows a soldier wearing fatigues similar to those used in the Israeli army and throwing a book that could be a copy of the Quran into a fire.

Both the video and a photo were broadcast on Israeli television.

A journalist from investigative website Bellingcat said the bookshelves that appeared in the photo matched those in a library in Gaza City's Al-Aqsa University.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the International Court of Justice's ruling ordering Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah "underlines the gravity of the situation facing Palestinians in Gaza".

"This decision opens up the possibility for relief, but only if governments use their leverage to press Israel to urgently enforce the court's measures," HRW associate international justice director Balkees Jarrah says.

Nowhere in Gaza is safe. The @CIJ_ICJ's order underlines the gravity of the situation in Gaza, where civilians are facing famine.

Yet the Israeli government continues to flout the World Court’s binding orders by obstructing the entry of lifesaving aid and services. pic.twitter.com/eHcPcqDHre

— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) May 24, 2024

The US-built temporary pier on the coast of Gaza has delivered 97 trucks of aid since operations began a week ago, a UN spokesman said on Friday, after what he called a "rocky start".

The UN World Food Programme "took possession of 97 trucks since the floating dock came into operation" on 17 May, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN chief António Guterres, told reporters.

US President Joe Biden had said in March the pier would be built to alleviate restrictions imposed by Israel on delivery by land to the Gaza Strip.

In the first few days of deliveries, people made off with the contents of some trucks heading to warehouses.

"There were a number of trucks where people, as we put it, self-distributed, but the trucks themselves did make it," Dujarric said.

"After a rocky start, the situation is stabilised.

"What we want to see, as we've been saying, is massive aid coming in through land routes."

British MP Apsana Begum calls for the UK to end arms sales to Israel, after the International Court of Justice ordered Tel Aviv to halt its offensive in Gaza's Rafah.

"The ICJ has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah," the Labour Party lawmaker says on X.

"The UK must immediately end arms sales to Israel and demand a ceasefire in Gaza."

The ICJ has ordered Israel to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah.

The UK must immediately end arms sales to Israel and demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

— Apsana Begum MP (@ApsanaBegumMP) May 24, 2024

Palestine Red Crescent Society mental health staff  are carrying out a recreational activity for a group of children during home visits in central Gaza, the humanitarian group says on X.

The PRCS #mental_health team in the #Gaza Strip is conducting a recreational activity for a group of children during several home visits in the central governorate. pic.twitter.com/7v8VDFfX5s

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) May 24, 2024

A total of 35,857 Palestinians have been killed and 80,293 have been injured since Israel's war on Gaza began in October, the Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Friday.

(Reuters)

US President Joe Biden welcomed Egypt's commitment on Friday to allow UN-provided humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza on a temporary basis through the Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, the White House said.

Biden also told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in a call that he supported efforts to reopen the southern Rafah crossing under terms acceptable to both Egypt and Israel and that the US would send a senior team to Cairo next week for talks, according to a White House statement.

"President Biden welcomed the commitment from President Al-Sisi to permit the flow of UN-provided humanitarian assistance from Egypt through the Karem Shalom crossing on a provisional basis for onward distribution throughout Gaza. This will help save lives," it said.

Sisi agreed to send the aid temporarily until legal mechanisms are in place to reopen the Rafah border crossing from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency said.

Some of the food supplies waiting to enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt have begun to rot as the Rafah border crossing remains shut to aid deliveries for a third week and people inside the Palestinian enclave face worsening hunger.

Rafah was a main entry point for humanitarian relief and some commercial supplies before Israel stepped up its military offensive on the Gazan side of the border on 6 May and took control of the crossing from the Palestinian side.

(Reuters)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday underscored that International Court of Justice rulings are "binding" after the top UN court ordered Israel to halt military operations in Rafah.

Guterres stressed that "decisions of the Court are binding and trusts that the parties will duly comply with the Order from the Court", his spokesperson said.

Israel said Friday its military operations in Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah do not "risk the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population" after the top UN court ordered it to stop them.

The International Court of Justice ruled on Friday that Israel must halt activities "which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part".

Israel rejected the grounds given by the court, insisting its military operations in Rafah were in line with international law.

"Israel has not and will not conduct military actions in the Rafah area which may inflict on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part," national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a joint statement with the foreign ministry spokesman.

The court also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which it closed earlier this month at the start of its assault on the city.

"Israel will continue to enable the Rafah crossing to remain open for the entry of humanitarian assistance from the Egyptian side of the border, and will prevent terror groups from controlling the passage," the Israeli statement added.

The ICJ's orders are legally binding but the court lacks direct enforcement mechanisms.

"The charges of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague are false, outrageous and morally repugnant," the Israeli statement said.

Israeli forces stepped up military strikes on Gaza on Friday, residents and medics said, with planes bombing targets in the southern city of Rafah even as the UN's top court ordered Israel to halt its offensive there.

Heavy fighting was also reported in Jabalia, in the north, where Israel's military said it had recovered the bodies of three captives killed during the Hamas attacks on 7 October.

In Rafah, where an escalating Israeli assault has sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing from what was one of the few remaining places of refuge, residents reported intensifying aerial and ground bombardment in the south and centre of the city that borders Egypt.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, reacting to the International Criminal Court's order to Israel to halt an assault on Rafah, on Friday said she expected all parties to follow international law.

Freeland commented in a call to reporters from a Group of Seven meeting in Italy.

(Reuters)

The European Union is studying whether it could play a role in monitoring the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after Israel's war on Gaza ends, officials said Friday.

The 27-nation bloc set up a mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but that was suspended two years later after Hamas took control of Gaza.

"We received demarches from different parties including Israel whether we could study the possibility to reopen it (the EU mission)," a high-ranking EU official said.

The official said EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell would likely get a green light from European ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday to draw up options for a potential redeployment of an EU mission.

"Obviously this would not be in the current circumstances, not in war circumstances. We are talking about the future," the official said.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on protecting humanitarians and UN personnel and demanded that all parties to conflict fully comply with their obligations under applicable internal human rights and humanitarian laws.

Over 190 UN staff have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since 7 October.

Voting result:

In favor: 14

Against: 0

Abstain: 1 (Russia)

#BREAKING

Security Council ADOPTS resolution on protection of humanitarian and UN personnel; demands all parties to conflict fully comply with their obligations under applicable int'nl human rights and humanitarian laws

Voting result
In favor: 14
Against: 0
Abstain: 1 (Russia) pic.twitter.com/mkEH6I5QBh

— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) May 24, 2024

President Biden is expected to speak with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday, according to a person familiar.

Biden is expected to ask Egypt to resume delivery of aid trucks to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel, according to an Axios reporter on X.

The White House declined to comment. 

BREAKING: President Biden is expected to hold a phone call with Egyptian President el-Sisi on Friday and ask that Egypt resumes the delivery of aid trucks to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel, U.S. officials said. They will aldo discuss Gaza hostage talks

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 24, 2024

(Reuters)

South Africa on Friday welcomed an order by the International Court of Justice to Israel to halt its offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah, and urged UN member states to back it.

"I believe it's a much stronger, in terms of wording, set of provisional measures, a very clear call for a cessation," Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told public broadcaster SABC.

South Africa has brought a case before the ICJ alleging the Israeli military operation in Gaza, amounts to "genocide".

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said after the ruling that those demanding Israel stop the war were also demanding that it cease to exist, which Israel would not agree to.

Before the ruling, an Israeli government spokesperson said: "No power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza".

Hamas welcomed the ruling by the UN's International Court of Justice but said it was insufficient.

"In the time we welcome the decision by the World Court that calls on the Zionist occupation forces to end its military aggression on Rafah, we believe it is not enough since the occupation aggression across the Gaza Strip and especially in northern Gaza is just as brutal and dangerous," senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters.

"We call upon the U.N. Security Council to immediately implement this demand by the World Court into practical measures to compel the Zionist enemy to implement the decision."

"We welcome the court's request to allow investigation committees to reach the Gaza Strip to investigate acts of war of genocide against the Palestinian people and Hamas pledges to cooperate with investigation committees," said Naim.

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision on Friday from the International Court of Justice, saying it represents an international consensus to end the war on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told Reuters.

(Reuters)

The top United Nations court on Friday called for the immediate release of captives taken by Hamas in its 7 October assault on Israel.

"The court finds it deeply troubling that many of these hostages remain in captivity and reiterates its call for their immediate and unconditional release," the International Court of Justice said.

Judge Nawaf Salam, head of the International Court of Justice, says Israel must immediately hold its military offensive.

The court was ruling on South Africa's emergency request to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide". 

"Israel must immediately hold its military offensive of 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 top UN court, the International Court of Justice, has opened a hearing to rule on a request to order Israel to halt its military operation in Gaza.

The court on Friday will rule on a plea by South Africa to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide".

French President Emmanuel Macron will on Friday host the foreign ministers of four key Arab states for talks on the war on Gaza Israel's war on Gaza, his office said.

Joined by his own top diplomat Stephane Sejourne, Macron will discuss the situation with Qatar's Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Egypt's Sameh Shoukry, Ayman Safadi of Jordan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, the Elysee said.

UK police have arrested 16 people at a protest organised by a pro-Palestinian student group at Oxford University, in the latest flare-up on a prestigious campus over the war on Gaza.

Thames Valley Police said the individuals were arrested Thursday on suspicion of aggravated trespass, while one was also held on suspicion of common assault.

The arrests came after students entered a university administrative building on Thursday morning, claiming they had "exhausted all other avenues of communication" with administrators.

"Instead of engaging in dialogue with her students, the vice-chancellor chose to evacuate the building, place it on lockdown, and call the police to make arrests," a spokesperson for the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) protest group said.

"We demand the administration meet with us to negotiate immediately."

It follows protests in recent weeks at more than a dozen UK universities, including at world-renowned Oxford and Cambridge, emulating similar actions on campuses in the United States and elsewhere.

The Australian Government will officially be designating Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Act 1995.

Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the decision to list the organisation follows advice from Australia's security agencies that the group "is directly or indirectly engaged in the preparing, planning, assisting in, or fostering of terrorist attacks".

"Ansar Allah's violent attacks in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding region have killed civilians, taken hostages and severely disrupted navigational rights and freedoms in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula, undermining maritime security and global prosperity," Dreyfus added.

The Danish parliament be voting on Tuesday on a proposal to recognise Palestine as a state, according to Dutch media.

Trine Pertou Mach reports the proposal has been put forward by the Red-Green Alliance, the Social Liberals, the Alternative and the Socialist People's Party.

"The government parties will also have a chance to vote for this when we vote next week. And I would like to clearly urge the government to change its position and follow Norway and the other European countries," according to the foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Red-Green Alliance.

This comes after Norway, Ireland and Spain announced to officially recognise Palestine as a state.

US intelligence chief Bill Burns is expected to hold talks in Paris with representatives of Israel in a bid to relaunch talks aimed at finding a truce in Gaza, a Western source close to the issue said Friday.

The visit of the CIA chief to the French capital, expected on Friday or Saturday, comes after Israel gave the green light to the resumption of negotiations for the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.

27 countries have signed a statement critiquing Israel's shutdown of Al Jazeera. Israeli Prime Minister announced the publication will be banned in Israel, shutting down its offices and confiscating equipment.

The statement was published by the Media Freedom Coalition, promoting media freedom.

The Media Freedom Coalition said: "A free and diverse media landscape is crucial for democracies to function, especially in times of conflict, as people rely on independent information from multiple, reliable sources to stay informed and make their decisions.

"It is essential that all journalists be given unhindered access to cover events and developments as they unfold, so that they have the possibility to report and inform transparently and factually."

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK and the US all signed the statement.

NEW: MFC joint statement on the closure of Al Jazeera in Israel

The undersigned members of the MFC do not support the shut down of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel

Read the full statement here: https://t.co/BtK8UublVP pic.twitter.com/rRCVk8m16i

— Media Freedom Coalition (@MediaFreedomC) May 24, 2024

Students at Oxford University in the UK are continuing their protest for Gaza, calling for the university to divest from Israeli institutions.

Students can be seen waving the Palestine flag, wearing keffiyehs and chanting for Palestine.

This comes after 16 people were arrested for "aggravated trespass".

Oxford students continue their peaceful action in protest against the university's refusal to divest from Israeli institutions, chanting for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/sBwmhDDTwe

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 24, 2024

European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday that recognising a Palestinian state was not a gift to Hamas.

Ireland, Norway and Spain said on Wednesday they would recognise a Palestinian state on 28 May to help secure a halt to Israel's war on Gaza and revive peace talks that stalled a decade ago.

"Recognising the Palestinian state is not a gift to Hamas, quite the contrary," he said. "The Palestinian authority is not Hamas, on the contrary they are deeply confronted."

He added that the EU had already talked to, financed, and met the Palestinian authority.

"Every time someone makes the decision to support a Palestinian state, ... the reaction of Israel is to transform it in an antisemitic attack," he added.

(Reuters)

The Israeli military said on Friday it had recovered the bodies of three captives taken into the Gaza Strip after they were killed during the 7 October attacks.

It said the bodies of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Orion Hernandez were recovered overnight in a joint operation by the army and the intelligence services in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, where there has been intense fighting in recent days.

The bodies were identified by medical officials at the Israeli National Forensic Institute and the Israeli police, the military said.

(Reuters)

10 Palestinians and many others were killed after an Israeli airstrike targeted an apartment in Gaza City - Wafa reports.

Local sources told the agency the airstrike hit an inhabited apartment, killing 10 people, including women and children.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Friday he had decided to "sever the connection" between Spain's diplomatic mission and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in response to Madrid's plan to formally recognise a Palestinian state.

"I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's representation in Israel and the Palestinians, and to prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank," Katz said in a post on X, adding it was "in response to Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the anti-Semitic call by Spain's deputy prime minister to... 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea'."

In response to Spain's recognition of a Palestinian state and the antisemitic call by Spain's Deputy Prime Minister to not just recognize a Palestinian state but to 'liberate Palestine from the river to the sea,' I have decided to sever the connection between Spain's…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 24, 2024

A six-day-old US pier project in Gaza is starting to get more aid to Palestinians in need, but conditions are challenging, US officials said Thursday. That reflects the larger problems bringing food and other supplies to starving people in the besieged territory.

The floating pier had a troubled launch, with crowds overrunning some of the first trucks coming from the new US-led sea route and taking its contents over the weekend. One man in the crowd was shot dead in still unexplained circumstances. It led to a two-day suspension of aid distribution.

The US military worked with the UN and Israeli officials to select safer alternate routes for trucks coming from the pier, US Vice Admiral Brad Cooper told reporters Thursday.