Photo: Eyad Baba Agence France-Presse A Palestinian and his children are in a ruined building in Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
France Media Agency to Rafah
Posted at 7:24 a.m. Updated at 12:31 p.m.
- Middle East
The UN's highest court on Friday ordered Israel to suspend its military operations in Rafah, a decision likely to increase international pressure on the country, more than seven months after the start of the Gaza war triggered by Hamas attack on October 7.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) — whose decisions are legally binding but lack mechanisms for their implementation — also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which it closed after launching its ground operation in the city in early May.
Immediately, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would bring together several ministers from his government for “consultation”
Without delay, his Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, declared on ~/p>
Hamas welcomed this decision while deploring that it was limited “only to Rafah”.
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Seized by South Africa which accuses Israel of “genocide”, the ICJ also orders Israel to “keep the Rafah crossing open to allow the unhindered and large-scale provision of basic services and humanitarian aid including he is in urgent need.”
The Court, which sits in The Hague, also calls for the “immediate and unconditional release” of the hostages held in Gaza.
On the ground, Israeli war planes flew over Gaza City (north) during the night, where shots were heard, AFP noted. The army reported mortar fire on soldiers in the center.
During a joint operation by the army and Israeli intelligence services, three Bodies of hostages killed on October 7 and then taken to the Gaza Strip were recovered overnight in Jabalia, in the north of the Palestinian territory.
The army indicated on Friday to continue its operations there, particularly in the eponymous displaced persons camp, reduced to a field of ruins.
Alarming humanitarian situation
The security and humanitarian situation in the territory remains alarming.
“I saw my sister and her husband lying dead next to each other,” Ammar Abou Ghaben, a displaced Palestinian, told AFPTV after several members of his family were killed in an attack by Israeli warships on the coast.
In Jabalia, the Kamal Adwan hospital is “out of service and 14 medical staff are trapped inside”, according to a medical source from the establishment.
Al-Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City, counted seven deaths.
The international community must “provide 50,000 liters of fuel […] in the coming hours in order to avoid a humanitarian and health catastrophe,” called an official from Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah (center).
The Israeli army launched ground operations in Rafah on May 7, with the stated objective of annihilating the last Hamas battalions there and rescuing the hostages, despite international warnings about the fate of civilians. Some 800,000 people have fled, according to the UN.
“New anti-Semitism”
The war began on October 7 after the attack on Israeli soil by Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to a count by the 'AFP produced from official Israeli data.
That day, 252 people were also taken as hostages into the Palestinian territory. Today, 121 are still held in Gaza, of whom 37 have died, according to the army.
Photo: Bashar Taleb Agence France-Presse At Al-Aqsa Hospital, a woman uses her phone as a flashlight to observe a patient during a power outage on Thursday.
In response, the Israeli army launched a devastating offensive in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union and the United States in particular, took power in 2007.
At least 35,800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas-led Gaza government.
After more than 230 days of war, the pressure is increasing on Israel.
Israelis gathered Friday morning in front of the American consulate in Jerusalem, wearing banners calling to “liberate Gaza”, according to an AFP photographer.
Earlier this week, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested the issuance of arrest warrants for alleged crimes committed in the Gaza Strip and in Israel against Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu.
This decision provoked vehement reactions in Israel, with Mr. Netanyahu saying he “rejected it with disgust” and speaking of a “new anti-Semitism”.
Talks for a truce in Paris
On another diplomatic front, Israel sanctioned Madrid two days after the announcement by Spain, Ireland and Norway to recognize the State of Palestine. Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced Friday that he had “decided to cut the link” between the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem and the Palestinians.
The day before, the ministry had warned that the decision of these three countries would make “more difficult the promotion of an agreement for the release of the hostages”.
The war cabinet nevertheless ordered Israeli negotiators to “return to the negotiating table to obtain the return of the hostages,” according to a senior official.
In early May, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, through Qatar, Egypt and the United States, did not result in a truce agreement associated with the release of Palestinian hostages and prisoners. detained by Israel.
The head of the CIA, William Burns, is expected in Paris on Friday or Saturday to try to restart talks on a truce in Gaza, the 'AFP from a Western source close to the matter.
French President Emmanuel Macron will receive the Prime Minister and head of diplomacy of Qatar as well as the Saudi foreign ministers on Friday evening , Egyptian and Jordanian, “to press for a ceasefire,” according to Cairo.