Connect with us

Foreign

ICJ orders Israel to halt military offensive in Rafah immediately

Published

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

By Francesca Hangeior

The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to halt military operations in Rafah, a landmark ruling likely to increase mounting international pressure on Israel more than seven months into the Gaza war.

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,” the International Court of Justice said.

It also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing into Gaza for the “unhindered” provision of humanitarian aid.

Advertisement

ICJ rulings are legally binding but the court has no concrete means to enforce them. For example, it ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, to no avail.

Israel had argued before the court that an order to stop military activity would give free rein to Hamas extremists and prevent its army from rescuing hostages taken in the group’s brutal October 7 attack.

The ICJ ruling comes hot on the heels of another highly charged decision Monday by the International Criminal Court prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders.

Prosecutor Karim Khan alleged that senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, plus top Hamas officials, were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza and the October 7 attack.

Advertisement

South Africa brought the case before the ICJ last year alleging that Israel’s Gaza offensive breached the 1948 UN Genocide Convention — a charge strongly denied by Israel.

In a ruling on January 26 that made headlines worldwide, the ICJ ordered Israel to do everything it could to prevent acts of genocide during its military operation in Gaza.

But South Africa has since returned several times to the ICJ arguing that the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza compels the court to issue further fresh emergency measures.

The court did so in March, ordering new measures compelling Israel to ensure the “unhindered provision at scale” of humanitarian aid.

Advertisement

In public hearings last week, South Africa’s ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela alleged that “Israel’s genocide has continued apace and has just reached a new and horrific stage”.

“Although the present application was triggered by the unfolding situation in Rafah, Israel’s genocidal onslaught across Gaza has intensified over the past few days, also warranting the attention of this court,” he said.

South Africa argued the only way to enable humanitarian aid in to ease the crisis in Gaza was a full halt to Israel’s military operations.

The court will take months if not years to rule on the broader South African genocide case but it can order urgent measures while weighing its decision.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 49

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Foreign

Trump says Iran has 22% of missiles left

Published

on

By

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

Iran still has “21, 22 per cent” of its missiles left, US President Donald Trump said Friday, in a week in which Tehran fired dozens of them toward regional neighbours, despite a sputtering ceasefire.

“They still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say, percentage wise, maybe 21, 22 percent of their missiles,” Trump told NBC News in an interview.

That figure for Iran’s missile stockpile is higher than one of 18 per cent Trump gave in May. He has often claimed to have completely destroyed Iran’s war-fighting capacity.

Iran’s military said Friday it had fired “warning missiles” at two US destroyers in the Gulf of Oman — a claim promptly denied by the US military. Two days earlier, Kuwait said it had intercepted 30 ballistic missiles fired as part of “heinous Iranian aggression.”

Advertisement

AFP

Continue Reading

Foreign

US, allies oppose Bolivia President Paz’s ouster as unrest grow

Published

on

By

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

The United States and allies on Friday condemned the ongoing efforts to overthrow the elected government of President Rodrigo Paz in Bolivia.

The Shield of the Americas member states said “mob rule” cannot replace the decision that most Bolivians made at the ballot box to remove “two decades of corrupt governments.”

The U.S., Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago signed the joint statement.

They affirm support for the Paz administration as it resists “attempts to drag Bolivia backwards through cynical efforts to prevent the delivery of food, medicine and other vital supplies.”

Advertisement

“Those who are funding these protests with dirty money from drug trafficking and transnational crime should be held accountable,” the allies urged.

The governments encouraged people who have grievances to dialogue with the government, warning against abusing their causes to “regain power.”

President Paz admitted Bolivia has been pushed to a “breaking point” amid weeks of widespread protests and a blockade that has paralyzed major cities.

Farmers, miners, transport workers and teachers are demanding immediate measures to ease the country’s worst economic crisis in four decades.

Advertisement

Defence Minister Marcelo Salinas and Education Minister Beatriz Garcia resigned this week as demonstrators continue to demand Paz’s resignation, a call he rejects.

The government accuses ex-President Evo Morales of fuelling unrest, which opposition figures believe could end with a referendum to decide whether Paz should remain in office.

Continue Reading

Foreign

Russia claims deadly drone strike varsity hostel killed 21 students

Published

on

By

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly drone attack on a university complex in Starobelsk, in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region, claiming that 21 students were killed in the strike.

According to a statement circulated by Russian officials, the attack occurred on the night of May 22 and targeted the academic building and dormitory of Lugansk State Pedagogical University.

Russian authorities alleged that 16 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including four heavy drones, were deployed in three waves during the operation.

Officials described the incident as one of the deadliest attacks on a civilian educational facility in the region since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, claiming that the victims were students residing in the university dormitory.

Advertisement

“Just a week ago, they were students with dreams, plans and a future. Today, all that remains are photographs, memories and unbearable grief,” the statement said.

The authorities further alleged that the strike was deliberate and targeted civilians rather than military infrastructure.

The claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian authorities had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report.

Since the start of the conflict, both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of carrying out attacks on civilian infrastructure, allegations that are often difficult to verify independently due to ongoing hostilities and restricted access to affected areas.

Advertisement

The reported incident has renewed concerns among humanitarian organizations about the impact of the war on educational institutions and young people caught in the conflict.

The Russia-Ukraine war, now in its fifth year, has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, widespread displacement and extensive damage to homes, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure across both countries.

International observers have consistently called for independent investigations into attacks involving civilian casualties, regardless of the parties involved, to establish the facts and ensure accountability under international humanitarian law.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News