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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/24/world/middleeast/icj-israel-gaza-rafah-ruling.html
International Court of Justice Issues Ruling on Israeli Military Offensive in Rafah
(New York Times) Gaya Gupta - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to "immediately" halt its military offensive in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza "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 Israeli government responded that its military "has not and will not" take actions that would lead to the partial or complete destruction of the Palestinian population of Rafah. In effect, it said that the court's decision has no bearing on Israel's offensive because the prohibited acts are not occurring. Israel's deputy attorney general for international law, Gilad Noam, called the case brought by South Africa an "inversion of reality." Noam called Israel's incursion into Rafah "limited and localized operations prefaced with evacuation efforts and support for humanitarian activities." Israeli officials have vowed to operate in Rafah to dismantle Hamas's rule there. The court has few effective means of enforcing its order, and it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in Gaza.