“An immediate ceasefire by all parties remains essential and – although not ordered by the Court – is the most effective condition to implement the provisional measures and end unprecedented civilian suffering,” Agnès Callamard, the organisation’s secretary general, said in a statement.
“The USA, UK, Germany and other EU states must signal their respect for the Court’s legally binding decision and do everything in their power to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide.”The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs and expatriates has said that “an Immediate ceasefire is the only way to compel Israel to implement the International Court of Justice’s decision”.
Despite the ICJ ruling calling for an end to all acts of genocide committed by the Israeli military, Israeli bombing continued overnight in Rafah where three people were reportedly killed, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reports.
“But perhaps the most devastating thing happening right now is the constant systematic attacks on healthcare facilities in Khan Younis. The largest facility, the Nasser Hospital, has been under attack for the past few weeks.” he added.
Mahmoud continued, “A lot of people who were in Khan Younis are telling us that they again experienced exactly what happened in other parts of Gaza when the largest facilities like al-Shifa Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital came under attack.”
“The military siege on Nasser Hospital got more intense overnight and in the early hours of this morning. “ he said, adding, “There is a severe shortage of fuel, forcing the hospital to shut down major parts.”
Uganda’s representative to the UN says a Ugandan judge who voted against all provisional measures sought by South Africa in its ICJ case against Israel does not represent the country, Al Jazeera reports.
Judge Julia Sebutinde was the only one of the international court’s 17 justices to vote against all six provisional measures Israel has been ordered to undertake.
“Justice Sebutinde ruling at the International Court of Justice does not represent the Government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine,” Adonia Ayebare said in a post on X.
“She has previously voted against Uganda’s case on DRC. Uganda’s support for the plight of the Palestinian people has been expressed through Uganda’s voting pattern at the United Nations.”
UN Security Council will meet next week over the decision by the global body’s top court calling for Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, the council’s presidency announced Friday.
The Wednesday meeting was called for by Algeria, whose ministry of foreign affairs said it would give “binding effect to the pronouncement of the International Court of Justice on the provisional measures imposed on the Israeli occupation.”
The ICJ on Friday said Israel must prevent genocidal acts in its war with Hamas and allow aid into Gaza, but stopped short of calling for an end to the fighting.
The decision “gives the clear message that in order to do all the things that they are asking for, you need a ceasefire for it to happen,” Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said.
“So fasten your seat belts,” he said, hinting that the Arab Group, represented on the council by Algeria, would push for one.
The Security Council, long divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, has only agreed to two resolutions since the October 7 Hamas attacks sparked the latest round of fighting.
In December, it demanded aid deliveries “at scale” to Gaza’s besieged population, while Israel’s ally the United States has kept out calls for a ceasefire despite international pressure.
The current fighting started with the unprecedented attack by Hamas that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages and Israel says around 132 of them remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead captives.
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas and launched a military offensive that the health ministry in Gaza says has killed at least 26,083 people, about 70 percent of them women and children.
The ICJ, based in The Hague, while refraining from ordering an immediate halt to the almost four-month-old war, said Israel must do everything to “prevent the commission of all acts within the scope” of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has said that late anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is “smiling in his grave” over the ICJ’s ruling against Israel, Al Jazeera reports.
“We believe that former President Mandela will be smiling in his grave as one of the advocates for the Genocide Convention,” Lamola was quoted as telling the Reuters news agency on the sidelines of a meeting of the African National Congress party.
During his life, Mandela was known for his strong support of the Palestinian cause, once saying, “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”.
