A United Nations court order for Israel to halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah must be obeyed, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief said on Saturday.
“We take note of the order” passed on to Israel, Josep Borrell said on X. “ICJ [International Court of Justice] Orders are binding on the parties and must be fully and effectively executed.”
The ICJ – the UN’s highest court based in the Dutch city of The Hague – ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its attack on the city.
The operation officially targets the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but is also causing enormous suffering to thousands of civilians arrested in the city.
According to the judges, the humanitarian situation in Rafah is now ‘disastrous’. Further measures are needed to prevent further harm to the civilian population, they said.
In his post, Borrell highlighted the court order for Israel to “keep the Rafah crossing open for humanitarian assistance.”
Israel responded to the court’s ruling on Friday by emphasizing that its actions in Rafah were part of a “defensive and just war” following the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
In a joint statement, the head of Israel’s National Security Council and a Foreign Ministry spokesman said the country “has not and will not undertake any military actions in the Rafah area that would adversely affect the living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.” that could lead to its physical destruction, in whole or in part.”
“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 statement said.
