UN’s top court orders Israel to halt military operations in Rafah

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

This was the outcome Israel
sought to avoid: a demand to halt a military operation the government
regards as essential for the defeat of Hamas, the return of hostages and the
security of Gaza’s border with Egypt.

But there is no immediate
indication that Israel will change course. Its tanks are pushing closer to the
centre of Rafah and just as the ICJ ruling was being read out, a series of
air strikes sent a huge black cloud billowing over Rafah.

Some of Benjamin Netanyahu’s
hardline colleagues have reacted with rage, accusing the court of antisemitism
and siding with Hamas.

But for Netanyahu’s
critics, this is one more sign of Israel’s growing international isolation.

The country says it’s gone to great
lengths to ensure that civilians are out of harm’s way, before sending troops
into Rafah.

And it says it’s making sure
that food and other vital supplies reach Gaza.

There are elements of truth
to both of these arguments. More than 800,000 civilians have moved away from
Rafah.

And while it’s true that very
little aid has entered the southern Gaza Strip since the Rafah offensive began
almost three weeks ago, Israel has allowed hundreds of trucks of commercial
goods to enter, meaning that in parts of the territory, food is available (if
not necessarily affordable).

Despite repeated warnings of
famine, especially in the north, mass starvation has yet to manifest itself. If anything, the situation in
the north may have improved somewhat, thanks to the opening of additional
crossing points.

But the court seemed
unimpressed. A fresh wave of mass displacement, it argued, represented a
significant new threat to the lives and wellbeing of the Palestinian
population, which demanded fresh action.

South Africa argued that
Rafah represented “the last line of defence” for the Gaza Strip. For Rafah to
suffer the same fate as the territory’s other cities, it said, could lead to
further irreparable damage to the entire Palestinian population.

This is what the court is
trying to stop. Israel says that is not the
purpose of its operation in the south and looks set to press on.