The top United Nations court on Friday ordered "Israel" to "immediately" halt military attacks on Rafah, marking a landmark ruling that is expected to heighten international pressure on the occupation entity more than seven months into its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also ruled that "Israel" must keep open the key Rafah crossing for "unhindered" humanitarian aid and urged the "unconditional" release of captives taken by the Palestinian Resistance since October 7.

ICJ rulings are legally binding, but the court has no concrete means to enforce them.

The ICJ said "Israel" must "immediately halt its military offensive, and 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 court on Friday also ordered "Israel" to ensure "unimpeded access" to UN-mandated investigators to look into allegations of genocide.

Pretoria brought the case before the ICJ last year alleging that "Israel's" war on Gaza breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. In a ruling on January 26, the court ordered "Israel" to do everything it could to prevent acts of genocide.

The latest ICJ ruling drew responses from several sides worldwide.

South Africa

While South Africa welcomed the ICJ order against "Israel" earlier today, it expressed concern that that "the United Nations Security Council has so far not succeeded in stopping the human suffering."

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said, "We are gravely concerned that Israel has restricted necessary levels of aid from entering Gaza and has systematically targeted aid and aid infrastructure within Gaza," adding, "This case is thus focused on the ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are now facing their seventh month of suffering through collective punishment for something for which they have no individual responsibility."

South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation hailed the Friday ruling as "groundbreaking".

"South Africa welcomes the ruling made by the court today. ... This order is ground-breaking as it is the first time that explicit mention is made for Israel to halt its military action in any area of Gaza," Zane Dangor, director-general of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, stated in a video shared by the department.

"This is effectively calling for a ceasefire. It is ordering the major party in this conflict to end its belligerent actions against the people of Palestine," Dangor highlighted.

Hamas

On its part, Hamas hailed the UN top court's ruling for "Israel" to immediately halt its attack on Rafah but criticized its decision to exclude the rest of Gaza from the order.

The Palestinian Resistance movement welcomed the decision of the ICJ, having called on the Israeli occupation to halt its aggression against the city of Rafah immediately and demanded that "it stop all measures that lead to genocide, allow aid into all areas of the Gaza Strip, and allow UN committees to enter to investigate the crimes of genocide."

The movement highlighted that "as the Zionist occupation continues to commit the most heinous crimes and horrific massacres and the war of starvation and siege against defenseless civilians in the entire Gaza Strip," it expected the ICJ to issue a decision to "stop the aggression and genocide against our people in the entire Gaza Strip, and not just in Rafah."

According to the movement, the events unfolding in Jabalia and other governorates of the Gaza Strip are no less criminal and dangerous than what is happening in Rafah.

"We call on the international community and the United Nations to put pressure on the occupation to immediately oblige it to abide by this resolution, and to move forward with turning into action all the UN resolutions that force the Zionist occupation army to stop the genocidal war it has been committing against our people for more than seven months," the statement issued by Hamas read.

It further affirmed that the international community and all relevant United Nations bodies, at the forefront of which is the UN Security Council, are demanded not to "allow this fascist entity to continue to disregard all international laws and conventions, and to escape accountability and punishment."

It also held them all responsible within the course of achieving international justice and committing to "supporting the rights of our people to freedom, self-determination, and the establishment of a Palestinian state with al-Quds as its capital."

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PA

The Palestinian Authority also welcomed the ICJ ruling and said it represented "an international consensus on the demand to stop the all-out war on Gaza," Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh announced.

Saudi Arabia

Through a statement by its Foreign Ministry, Saudi Arabia welcomed the ICJ ruling ordering "Israel" to immediately halt the military offensive on Rafah.

"Saudi Arabia welcomes the decision issued by the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to immediately stop the military offensive or any other actions in Rafah, in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," the statement read.

Egypt

Holding "Israel" fully responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, Egypt said in a statement by the Foreign Ministry that it "calls on Israel to comply with its legal obligations within the framework of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and international humanitarian law and to implement all interim measures issued by the ICJ."

It also called "on Israel to stop its systematic policies against the Palestinian people of targeting, starvation and siege in violation of all provisions of international law and international humanitarian law."

Jordan

On his part, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi saluted the ICJ as it, once again, "exposes Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. And once again, the Israeli Govt reacts with disdain to Int’l law, refusing to heed the Court’s orders. The SC (Security Council) must shoulder its responsibility, put an end to Israel’s impunity & to double standards in enforcing Int’l law."

Turkey

Turkey also welcomed the interim decision that ordered "Israel to halt its attacks on Rafah in Gaza and immediately open the Rafah border gate to humanitarian aid," a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement read.

"No country in the world is above the law. We expect all decisions taken by the Court to be quickly implemented by Israel. To ensure this, we invite the U.N. Security Council to do its part."

Norway, Belgium, Canada

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said, "I expect Israel to carry out the measures that have been ordered. Respect for the court and its functions, including the authority to order interim measures, is essential to strengthening international law and the international legal order."

BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HADJA LAHBIB:

In a post on X, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said: "The @CIJ_ICJ orders Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah. (Belgium) calls for immediate implementation of the decision. The violence and human suffering in Gaza must stop. We call for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and negotiations for two States."

The @CIJ_ICJ orders Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah. 🇧🇪 calls for immediate implementation of the decision.

The violence and human suffering in Gaza must stop.

We call for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and negotiations for two States.

— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) May 24, 2024

On her part, Canadian Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland reacted to the ruling, saying she expected all parties to follow international law.

Josep Borrell

Commenting on the ruling, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell considered that the European Union has to choose between respecting the bloc's support for international institutions or its support for "Israel".

"What is going to be the answer to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that has been issued today, what is going to be our position. We will have to choose between our support to international institutions of the rule of law or our support to Israel," Borrell pointed out at an event in Florence.

Antonio Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio 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.

Israeli response

On the other hand, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stressed that Tel Aviv would not accept the ruling, adding that the demands for "Israel" to stop its war was tantamount to demanding it cease to exist.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also condemned the ICJ ruling, claiming that it failed to draw a connection between its demand for "Israel" to end the war on Gaza with a demand to return Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in the Strip.

Lapid added that the ICJ's failure to link the two demands was "a moral collapse and a moral disaster."

Meanwhile, a joint statement by the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the Foreign Ministry said, "South Africa's accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding 'genocide' are false, outrageous and disgusting. Israel has not and will not carry out a military campaign in the Rafah area that creates living conditions that could lead to the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part."

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz said, "The State of Israel set out on a just and necessary campaign following the brutal massacre of its citizens, abhorrent sexual violence perpetrated against its women, kidnapping of its children and rockets fired at its cities. The State of Israel is committed to continue fighting to return its hostages and promise the security of its citizens - wherever and whenever necessary - including in Rafah."

"We will continue operating in accordance with international law wherever we might operate, while safeguarding to the best extent possible the civilian population. Not because of the ICJ, but because of who we are and the values we stand for."

Read more: Alienated, "Israel" grapples with deepening isolation: WP