UN's top court orders Israel to halt military operations in Rafah - BBC News
The ICJ also says the Rafah border crossing with Egypt must be opened for the entry of humanitarian aid "at scale".
This was the outcome Israel sought to avoid: a demand to halt a military operation the government regards as essential for the defeat of Hamas, the return of hostages and the security of Gaza’s border with Egypt.

But there is no immediate indication that Israel will change course. Its tanks are pushing closer to the centre of Rafah and just as the ICJ ruling was being read out, a series of air strikes sent a huge black cloud billowing over Rafah.

Some of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline colleagues have reacted with rage, accusing the court of antisemitism and siding with Hamas.

But for Netanyahu’s critics, this is one more sign of Israel’s growing international isolation.

The country says it’s gone to great lengths to ensure that civilians are out of harm’s way, before sending troops into Rafah.

And it says it’s making sure that food and other vital supplies reach Gaza.

There are elements of truth to both of these arguments. More than 800,000 civilians have moved away from Rafah.

And while it’s true that very little aid has entered the southern Gaza Strip since the Rafah offensive began almost three weeks ago, Israel has allowed hundreds of trucks of commercial goods to enter, meaning that in parts of the territory, food is available (if not necessarily affordable).

Despite repeated warnings of famine, especially in the north, mass starvation has yet to manifest itself. If anything, the situation in the north may have improved somewhat, thanks to the opening of additional crossing points.

But the court seemed unimpressed. A fresh wave of mass displacement, it argued, represented a significant new threat to the lives and wellbeing of the Palestinian population, which demanded fresh action.

South Africa argued that Rafah represented “the last line of defence” for the Gaza Strip. For Rafah to suffer the same fate as the territory's other cities, it said, could lead to further irreparable damage to the entire Palestinian population.

This is what the court is trying to stop. Israel says that is not the purpose of its operation in the south and looks set to press on.