Israel-Gaza war: World Court rejects South African request for urgent measures to safeguard Rafah

The International Court of Justice stressed, however, that Israel must respect earlier measures ordered in the preliminary stage in a landmark genocide case

Israel has vowed to continue its offensive against Hamas in Rafah, but the city is full of displaced civilians who fled the fighting elsewhere in Gaza

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Protesters hold a Palestinian flag as they gather outside the International Court of Justice in January. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:49am, 17 Feb 2024Updated: 5:41am, 17 Feb 2024

The top UN court on Friday rejected a South African request to impose urgent measures to safeguard Rafah in the Gaza Strip, but also stressed that Israel must respect earlier measures imposed late last month at a preliminary stage in a landmark genocide case.

The International Court of Justice said in a statement that the “perilous situation” in Rafah “demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the court in its order of 26 January 2024, which are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, and does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures”.

The world court added that Israel “remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and with the said order, including by ensuring the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.

The statement cited UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, saying that the court noted “the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and in Rafah in particular, ‘would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences’, as stated by the United Nations secretary general”.

A boy flies a kite in front of the tents of internally displaced Palestinians in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Israel has identified Rafah as the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza and vowed to continue its offensive there. An estimated 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza’s population, has crammed into the city, most of them displaced people who fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

Israel has said it will evacuate the civilians before attacking, though international aid officials have said there is nowhere to go due to the vast devastation left behind by the offensive.