New York: On response to South Africa’s accusation of genocide against Israel, which cited “immense risk” to the Palestinian population, judges at the highest level of the United Nations ordered Israel to stop its offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah and evacuate the territory.

With its ruling on Friday, the 15-judge panel sought to reduce the number of deaths and ease the suffering of Gaza’s civilian population for the third time this year. Although court orders are legally valid, there are no police to carry them out.

The president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nawaf Salam, read out a decision that stated that the requirements for a fresh emergency order had been reached and that the situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave was not adequately addressed by the interim measures the court had ordered in March.

Source: Jordan News Agency