It asked the court to grant emergency measures to halt the fighting,which has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced the majority of the population in a more than three-month campaign of intensive bombardment.

The ICJ judges ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide,punish acts of incitement,take steps to improve the humanitarian situation and report back on its progress in a month.

It did not decide the merits of the genocide allegations,which could take years. Although the ruling cannot be appealed,the court has no mechanism to enforce its decision.

In reading out the decision,ICJ President Judge Joan Donoghue described the plight of Palestinians in Gaza,singling out harm to children and quoting detailed descriptions of the humanitarian emergency from UN officials.

This,she said,justified the court’s decision to take emergency action to prevent irreparable harm. She also read out calls from Israeli officials for a harsh campaign,which she said justified the court’s order to Israel to punish people guilty of incitement.

Israel called South Africa’s allegations false and “grossly distorted”. It says it has acted in Gaza in self-defence against a foe that attacked first,and blames Hamas for harm to civilians for operating among them,which the fighters deny.

South Africa hailed the court order as a “decisive victory” for international rule of law and both it and the European Union said Israel must implement it immediately and in full.

Assault on Khan Younis

On the ground in Gaza,the war has entered a particularly destructive phase,with the heaviest fighting in weeks now taking place in crowded areas jammed with hundreds of thousands of people who fled from earlier fighting elsewhere.

Displaced Palestinians at a shelter in southern Gaza said they felt let down by the lack of a ceasefire order from the court,but also hopeful the ruling would bring accountability.

“What happened was a victory,” said Mustafa Ibrahim,a human rights activist.

In Israel,Jonathan Dekel-Chen,whose son is being held hostage in Gaza,said he was encouraged by the ICJ’s call for the release of the captives,which he said reflected a largely neglected point that the Hamas assault sparked the war.

The militants released a video on Friday featuring three female hostages calling for an end to the conflict. Israel has said such videos amount to psychological abuse.

Israel kept up its bombardment of the main southern city of Khan Younis,reporting “intensive battles” and strikes on dozens of Hamas fighters and infrastructure from the air and ground.

Residents said gun battles raged overnight,with Israeli forces blowing up buildings and houses in the western part of the city.

Israel said it had discovered some 200 tunnel shafts and destroyed more than 130 militant infrastructure sites in its latest operations,as well as killing “numerous militants”.

Palestinians say Israel has blockaded hospitals making it impossible for rescuers to reach the dead and wounded. Israel denies blockading hospitals and says Hamas fighters are to blame for operating near them.

“We believe many victims are still under the rubble and on the roads,the occupation prevents ambulance and civil emergency teams from reaching them,” Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said.

In a further setback for stricken Palestinians,the United States said it was pausing funding to the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

UNRWA said it was urgently investigating and “any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror” would be held accountable.

Reuters

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