The court urged Israel to refrain from any possible genocidal acts as it presses its military operation in the Gaza Strip but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.
The court said Israel must take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians”.
At this stage, the ICJ is not considering whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza — as that process will take several years before a ruling can be handed down.
But the court warned Israel to “take all measures in its power to prevent” acts that could fall under the UN Genocide Convention.
The case was brought by South Africa, which has accused Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.
The question now is whether the court’s rulings will be obeyed. Although the rulings of the ICJ are legally binding, it has no mechanism to enforce them and they are sometimes completely ignored, for example, the court has ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, which was disobeyed.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already hinted Israel would not abide by any ruling saying “no one will stop us”, not even a verdict in The Hague.
You can watch the video of the court’s ruling in the tweet below:
