Israel ready to ignore the Court of Justice and reaffirms its right to self-defense

Saturday May 25, 2024 – 11:03 UTC

“Israel must immediately end its military offensive in Rafah, which could inflict living conditions on Palestinian groups in Gaza that would lead to their physical destruction,” the ICJ said.

Israel on Friday condemned the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, saying that the “accusations of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip” were “false, scandalous and morally repugnant”.

The statement was a response to the ICJ saying “Israel must immediately end its military offensive in Rafah governorate, which could inflict living conditions on Palestinian groups in Gaza that would lead to its physical destruction in whole or in part.” »
“After the horrific attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023, Israel embarked on a defensive and just war to eliminate Hamas and secure the release of our hostages,” the joint statement from the Israeli National Security Council said.

Israel said it was acting on the basis of its right to self-defense “in accordance with international law, including international humanitarian law.” Israel added that it would not carry out military actions in Rafah “that could inflict on the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza living conditions that could lead to their physical destruction in whole or in part.”

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, 37 of whom died according to the Israeli military.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 35,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war.

Last week, South African lawyers asked the ICJ to order an emergency end to the military operation in Rafah – a town in southern Gaza where more than a million people are sheltering – accusing Israel to intensify what he calls “genocide” in Gaza.

South Africa also pushed for Israel to end its war in Gaza, but the court stopped short of issuing an order covering the entire territory.

The South African government on Friday welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order ordering Israel to immediately suspend its offensive in the southern Gaza Strip.

“South Africa welcomes the order issued today by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by 13 votes to 2, ordering Israel, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and taking into account of the deterioration of the living conditions of civilians in Rafah, to immediately stop its military operation”, indicates a press release published by the South African presidency.

In addition, the bodies of three other Israeli hostages were found in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. These are those of Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum and Orion Hernandez, it is specified in a press release.

The Israeli military said the men’s bodies were found overnight in the northern town of Jabalia as part of a joint operation with Israeli domestic intelligence. This comes a week after the bodies of three other hostages were recovered in Gaza.

The UN also reported Friday that 97 aid trucks had been delivered to Gaza via the temporary dock built by the United States on the coast of the Palestinian territory. The UN World Food Program “has taken possession of 97 trucks since the floating dock was put into service” on May 17, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

During the first days of deliveries, some Gazans swarmed the trucks as they headed to warehouses. “There were a number of trucks that people, as we say, distributed themselves, but the trucks themselves were successful,” said Dujarric, but “after a difficult start, the situation stabilized” .

Separately, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that between May 7 and 23, only 906 trucks entered the enclave of 2.3 million inhabitants, where the famine threatens.