Israel-Hamas war: Israel ordered to cease Rafah offensive; bodies of more hostages found

A top UN court ordered Israel to stop its attack on Rafah “immediately” in a landmark decision, but Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted genocide claims as “outrageous and disgusting”.

In a landmark ruling the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel must immediately halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The ruling further increases international pressure on Israel over the scope of its war against militant group Hamas - however, even as the court handed down its decision, residents and healthcare workers say Israel dialled up its bombardment of the area.

The ICJ is based at The Hague, in the Netherlands, and it made the ruling as part of the ongoing genocide case brought against Israel by South Africa.

In its keenly awaited ruling, the ICJ said Israel must “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”.

Israel must “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”, the UN court added.

Rulings by the court are binding and final.

However, the ICJ decision can’t make Israel stop — its decisions are subject to enforcement by the Security Council, but each of the five members can veto any effort.

The United States has vetoed previous Security Council resolutions for a ceasefire.

(L-R) Yaron Wax, deputy of mission for Israeli embassy in the Netherlands, lawyer and member of Israel's legal team, Malcolm Shaw KC and Member of Israel's legal team Avigail Frisch Ben Avraham attend a hearing at the International Court of Justice. Picture: AFP

Israel gave no indication it was preparing to change course in Rafah.

“Israel has not and will not carry out military operations in the Rafah area that create living conditions that could cause the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part,” National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a joint statement with the foreign ministry spokesman.

“Israel will continue to enable the Rafah crossing to remain open for the entry of humanitarian assistance from the Egyptian side of the border, and will prevent terror groups from controlling the passage.”

Speaking ahead of the decision, a government spokesperson told Reuters that “no power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza.”

Palestinian children near a damaged building in Rafah. Picture: AFP

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BODIES OF THREE HOSTAGES RETRIEVED

It comes as Israeli military said its forces had retrieved the bodies of three hostages in an overnight operation in the northern Gaza Strip’s Jabalia.

The remains of Israeli hostage Chanan Yablonka, Brazilian-Israeli Michel Nisenbaum, and French-Mexican Orion Hernandez Radoux, who is the boyfriend of Shani Louk were retrieved and their families notified after forensic identification, the military said in a statement.

“Based on verified intelligence in our possession, the hostages were murdered during the October 7 massacre”, it said.

Yablonka, 42, and Hernandez Radoux, 32, were abducted from a music festival when Palestinian militants stormed southern Israel from Gaza on October 7.

Hernandez Radoux was the boyfriend of 22-year-old Israeli-German Shani Louk, who was filmed on October 7 lying face down in the back of a pick-up truck filled with gunmen.

The Israeli army announced on Monday it had found her body in Jabalia last week.

Shani Louk and Orion Hernandez Radoux, (R). His body has been found in Gaza by Israeli military. Picture: Instagram

Family members and friends carry the coffin during a funeral service for Shani Louk who was killed near the Nova music festival site. Picture: Amir Levy/Getty Images

Nisenbaum, a 59-year-old from the Israeli city of Sderot near Gaza, was last contacted on his way to an army base on the border to pick up his granddaughter on the day of the attack.

He had been on the phone with family members when the line was cut.

A person speaking Arabic then answered a call from one of his daughters.

Avivit Yablonka, the 48-year-old sister of Chanan, told AFP she “feared bad news” since the bodies of other hostages were returned last week.

A divorced father of two, according to Avivit, Yablonka had decided to go to the festival with four friends at the last minute. They had tried to escape the attack in a car.

The bodies of his four friends - including former Israeli international footballer Lior Assouline - were found and identified near the vehicle.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on social media platform X that “our broken hearts go out to the Yablonka, Hernandez and Nisenbaum families” after the news that their bodies had been recovered.

Out of the 252 people taken hostage on October 7, 121 hostages remain inside the Gaza Strip, including 37 the army says are dead.

HORRIFIC FOOTAGE OF FEMALE HOSTAGES RELEASED

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum have released bodycam video showing the horrifying reality of the five hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

They were identified as Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy, according to the New York Post.

“The video is a damning testament to the nation’s failure to bring home the hostages, who have been forsaken for 229 days,” the group said in a statement urging that the hostage exchange talks with Hamas resume.

PALESTINIANS WELCOME EUROPEAN SUPPORT

Residents of Shatila, an impoverished Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, expressed joy after three European countries said they would recognise a Palestinian state.

“We hope that the whole world will recognise Palestine, and we are happy with this decision … It is a beautiful feeling,” said Alaa Ghozlan, 26, whose family is originally from Haifa, now in northern Israel.

“We now have hope to return to our country - a country I was not born in and was deprived of but which lives inside me despite everything,” he told AFP from inside the camp.

Seven other countries including Sweden have already recognised Palestinian statehood.

Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, many living in poverty in the country’s 12 official camps, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.

Jordan hailed the co-ordinated move by Ireland, Norway and Spain as an “important and essential step towards Palestinian statehood”.

“We welcome the decisions taken by friendly European countries today to recognise a Palestinian state,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a press conference.

People walk at a street in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut's southern suburb on May 22, 2024. Picture: AFP

A shop owner with a Palestinian flag in her store in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila in Beirut smiles after Ireland, Norway and Spain said they would formally recognise the State of Palestine. Picture: AFP

ISRAEL, HAMAS SLAM ‘WAR CRIMES’ ARREST APPLICATIONS

Israel and Hamas both angrily rejected moves to arrest their leaders for war crimes made before an international court as heavy fighting raged on in the Gaza Strip.

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor Karim Khan said he had applied for arrest warrants against top Israeli and Hamas leaders over the bloody conflict.

“I reject with disgust The Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

“With what audacity do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF (Israeli army), the most moral army in the world?” Netanyahu said.

“This is like creating a moral equivalence after September 11 between President Bush and Osama bin Laden, or during World War II between FDR (Franklin D Roosevelt) and Hitler.”

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Picture: AFP

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan. Picture: AFP

Khan said in a statement that he was seeking warrants against the Israeli leaders for crimes including “wilful killing”, “extermination and/or murder” and “starvation”.

He said Israel had committed “crimes against humanity” as part “of a widespread and systematic attack against the Palestinian civilian population”.

He also said that the leaders of Hamas, including Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh and Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, “bear criminal responsibility” for actions committed on October 7.

These included “taking hostages”, “rape and other acts of sexual violence” and “torture”.

“International law and the laws of armed conflict apply to all,” Khan added.

“No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader - no one - can act with impunity.”