NEW YORK (AP) Israel was told to halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but judges on the top United Nations court stopped short of ordering a full cease-fire throughout the Palestinian territory.
The International Court of Justice also ordered Israel to keep the Rafah border crossing open, saying “the humanitarian situation is now to be characterized as disastrous.”
Israel faces global criticism over the mounting death toll and devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. More than a million Palestinians fled Rafah in recent weeks as Israeli forces pressed deeper into the city. People displaced by fighting lack shelter, food, water and other essentials for survival, the U.N. humanitarian agency said Wednesday.
The cease-fire request is part of a case filed late last year by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide during its Gaza campaign. Israel vehemently denies the allegations. The case at will take years to resolve, but South Africa wants interim orders to protect Palestinians while the legal wrangling continues.
At least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.