World reacts to ICJ’s order for Israel to stop Rafah offensive
Al Jazeera
Many figures around the world welcome the ruling while Israeli officials express anger and defiance.
The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its military assault on Rafah, describing the humanitarian situation in the southern Gaza city, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are sheltering, as “disastrous”.
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 International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) president, Nawaf Salam, said.
The emergency measures were ordered on the request of South Africa as part of its genocide case against Israel.
The ICJ has ordered Israel to report back to the court within a month about its progress in applying measures ordered by the institution. It has also ordered Israel to reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt for humanitarian assistance.
Here are some reactions from leaders and organisations across the world:
