Ruling on a case brought by South Africa, the International Court of Justice, ICJ, said Israel must ensure its forces did not commit genocide and take measures to improve the humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
In the ruling, 15 of the 17 judges that sat on the court’s panel voted for emergency measures which covered most of what South African asked for, with the notable exception of ordering a halt to Israeli military action in Gaza.
Israel's military operation has laid waste to much of Gaza and killed more than 25,000 Palestinians in close to four months, Gaza health authorities say.
The Middle Eastern nation unleashed its assault after a cross-border rampage on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants which Israeli officials say resulted in the death of 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
240 people were taken hostage by Hamas, Israeli officials add.
The ICJ said it was "gravely concerned" about the fate of the hostages in Gaza and called on Hamas and other armed groups to immediately release them without conditions.
But the ruling, welcomed by Palestinians, will still be an embarrassment for Israel and its closest allies, including the United States.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his nation was committed to international law after the World Court ordered it to take action to prevent acts of genocide in its war in Gaza, but he reiterated that it had a right to defend itself.
Responding to the case brought to the ICJ by South Africa, Netanhayu said the charge of genocide was "outrageous."
"Like every country, Israel has a basic right to defend itself," he said in a statement released in Hebrew.
"The World Court in the Hague justly rejected the outrageous demand to deprive us of this right," he said as he seemingly referred to the fact that the court stopped short of calling for an immediate cease-fire.
"The state of Israel shall...take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide convention," the court said.
Israel must report back to it on what steps it was taking in a month's time, the court said.
But while the ICJ's decisions are final and without appeal, the court has no way to enforce them.
The court did not rule at this stage on the core of the case brought by South Africa - whether genocide has occurred in Gaza. But it recognized the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide.
South Africa's deputy president Paul Mashatile and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola were seen cheering and dancing at a gathering of the governing African National Congress party following the court's verdict.
South Africa argued two weeks ago that Israel's aerial and ground offensive was aimed to bring about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza.
Washington has rejected the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ.
The U.S. has not observed acts in Gaza that constitute genocide, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said earlier this month after South Africa launched genocide proceedings over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian enclave.
The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."
Acts of genocide named in the convention include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the group in whole or in part.
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