UN’s top court orders Israel to immediately halt Rafah

ICJ president says humanitarian situation in Gaza’s southernmost city is now classified as ‘disastrous’

ICJ ruling underlines risks for Israel as its isolation grows

The UN’s top court has ordered Israel to halt its assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a ruling that will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country.

The president of the international court of justice, Nawaf Salam, said the humanitarian situation in Rafah had deteriorated further and was now classified as “disastrous”, meaning the ICJ’s previously issued provisional measures were insufficient.