Israel continues military action in Rafah, disregarding the ICJ's verdict.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) had urged Israel to cease its military activities in Rafah, a city in the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, but they didn't heed the call on Saturday. The Israeli army claimed that they had put down a number of Palestinian militants who had attacked them earlier. This was followed by the discovery of more weapon caches and tunnel shafts in Rafah. One civilian was said to have been killed in an Israeli air strike, as cited by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, which also quoted hospital staff. At this point, the information couldn't be confirmed independently.
On the previous day, Friday, the ICJ instructed Israel to halt operations in Rafah, following a request from South Africa. The court agreed that the humanitarian situation in Rafah was deteriorating and necessitated additional action to protect the civilians.
The battleground shifted to the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern part of Gaza Strip, as per the Israeli army's statement. They had killed scores of enemy combatants in the past 24 hours, using a combination of ground assaults and airstrikes. Israeli forces had destroyed launch sites for rockets and demolished tunnel shafts, and found a huge stockpile of weapons.
The full-scale conflict in Gaza began when over 1,200 Palestinians, affiliated with the Islamist group Hamas and other extremists, mounted attacks in Israel on October 7 last year. In response, Israel launched aerial assaults and a ground invasion. The disproportionately high number of civilian casualties and the catastrophic circumstances in Gaza caused widespread international condemnation of Israel.
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Despite the ICJ's ruling instructing Israel to halt operations in Rafah, the Israeli army continued its military deployment in the city on Saturday. This disregard for the ICJ's verdict was evident in the ongoing conflict, which also saw the discovery of more weapon caches and tunnel shafts in Rafah. Israel's armory was significantly boosted by these finds, potentially aiding their military actions in the region.
Source: www.ntv.de
