Israel bombs Rafah after UN’s highest court orders halt to attack

Israel continues its military offensive on Rafah. According to the British newspaper The Guardian, citing the French agency AFP, the Israeli army bombed the area early Saturday, despite the fact that the International Court of Justice ordered the Israeli government this Friday to “immediately” stop the attacks on the said area.

Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip on the Egyptian border, is the main gateway for humanitarian aid to the Strip. More than one million people displaced from the north and center of the enclave have taken refuge there during the conflict. Given the persistence of Israeli army attacks, around 800,000 people have been forced to move again to the new “humanitarian areas” designated by Israel, Al Mawasis. The International Court of Justice assured in its ruling issued yesterday that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “catastrophic” and that the measures taken by Israel in Rafah – such as the construction of Al Mawasis or the evacuation order for the city – are not sufficient.

The Israeli military has not yet confirmed this Saturday’s attack. The daily report of the Defense Forces reported yesterday “operational activities in specific areas of Rafah”, in which, according to the statement, “a terrorist cell was eliminated that opened fire on its soldiers.” Israel has assured that its activity in the area is limited to the search for Hamas weapons and infrastructure. However, medical sources in the enclave have warned of another air strike in recent hours on the city bordering Egypt.

The Hague court’s order calls on Israel to “immediately stop its military aggression and any other actions in Rafah”, in addition to keeping the city’s border open so that medical supplies, food and basic services that are “urgently needed” can enter. The only hospital that remains operational in the area is the Kuwait Specialty Hospital. This morning, its director asked the World Health Organization to guarantee the arrival of fuel to the complex to be able to continue providing medical services. “We hope that the court’s decision will put pressure on Israel to end this war of destruction, because there is nothing left here,” Oum Mohammed al-Ashqa, a Palestinian woman displaced from Gaza City, told French agency AFP. Al-Balah to the Rafah invasion.

Meanwhile, dozens of people have also been killed in other areas of the Strip. According to Wafa, at least four civilians have been killed in Israeli bombing of a residential apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Ten Palestinians, including children and women, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the town of Beit Hanoun, north of the enclave this morning. The agency also reports civilian deaths in Yabaliya. “IDF troops have continued their operational activity in Yabaliya. “During the last day, troops destroyed terrorist infrastructure, launch sites and military structures and found a number of weapons,” the Israeli army statement said.

Spanish government reminds Israel that UN court orders “are mandatory”

Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Alberes recalled this morning that the ICJ’s orders “are mandatory.” “We demand its application,” he declared in a message shared on his X profile, adding that all the decisions of the court in The Hague are in fact legally binding, but the body lacks a direct application mechanism.

On the other hand, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported that the death toll in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict on October 7 now stands at 35,903 people. According to the ministry’s statement, 80,420 have been injured and hundreds of Gazans are missing under the rubble of the bombing.