United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today, Friday, the obligation to implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice regarding the ruling issued regarding Rafah.

The Secretary-General noted that the decisions, in accordance with the Charter and Statute of the Court, are binding and he hopes that the parties will duly comply with the decision.

He continued: “In accordance with the Statute of the Court, the Secretary-General will immediately transmit to the Security Council notification of the interim measures ordered by the Court.”

The International Court of Justice in The Hague held a hearing on May 16 and 17 on South Africa's request to take additional measures against Israel over the Rafah operation. The representative of South Africa, the country's ambassador to the Netherlands, Visomuzi Madonsela, called on the court to oblige Israel to stop its military operation in the Gaza Strip, including Rafah, and to withdraw its army from there.

Earlier today, on Friday, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to halt military operations in Rafah, a historic ruling that is likely to increase the growing international pressure on Israel, after more than 7 months of war in Gaza.

The court stressed that Israel must “immediately stop its military attack, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, that may impose on the Palestinian group in Gaza living conditions that could lead to their complete or partial physical destruction.”

On May 7, the Israeli army announced that it had begun a “limited” operation, as it described it, to control the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side, where its vehicles stormed the crossing and raised Israeli flags inside.

The Israeli army imposed full control over the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to the Arab Republic of Egypt