Gaza war: Israel strikes Rafah after UN court orders halt to offensive

Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded Rafah, after the government dismissed an order by the top UN court to halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city.

At the same time, questions remained over the resumption of truce talks despite renewed international efforts aimed at securing a prisoner-hostage exchange and ceasefire in the war sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

An Israeli official said on Saturday the government had an “intention” to restart stalled negotiations over the coming days.

But a senior member of Hamas later told Al Jazeera he had not been “informed of anything by the mediators in this context”.

In a case brought by South Africa alleging the Israeli military operation amounts to “genocide”, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive, and demanded the release of hostages and the “unhindered provision” of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Hague-based ICJ, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also instructed Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, after Israel’s seizure of the Palestinian side earlier this month effectively shut it.

Israel gave no indication it was preparing to change course in Rafah, insisting the court had got it wrong.