FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
That was the outcome Israel sought to avoid: a demand to halt a military operation the government considers essential to the defeat of Hamas, the return of hostages and the security of Gaza's border with Egypt.
But there is no immediate indication that Israel will change course. Its tanks are moving closer to the center of Rafah and just as the ICJ verdict was being read, a series of airstrikes sent a huge black cloud rising over Rafah.
Some of Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line colleagues have reacted with fury, accusing the court of anti-Semitism and support for Hamas. But for Netanyahu's critics, it is one more sign of Israel's growing international isolation.
The country says it has gone to great lengths to ensure civilians are out of harm's way before sending troops to Rafah and is making sure food and other vital supplies reach Gaza. There are elements of truth in both of these arguments. More than 800,000 civilians have fled Rafah.
And while it is true that very little aid has entered the southern Gaza Strip since the start of the Rafah offensive almost three weeks ago, Israel has allowed hundreds of trucks of commercial goods to enter, meaning that in parts of the territory, food is available (if not necessarily affordable).
Despite repeated warnings of famine, especially in the north, mass starvation has yet to emerge. The situation in the north may have improved somewhat, thanks to the opening of additional crossing points.
But the court seemed unimpressed. A new wave of mass displacement, she argued, represented a significant new threat to the lives and well-being of the Palestinian population that required new action.
South Africa argued that Rafah represented the "last line of defense" for the Gaza Strip. For Rafah to suffer the same fate as other cities in the territory, she said, could lead to further irreparable damage to the entire Palestinian population.
This is what the court is trying to stop. Israel says that this is not the purpose of its operation in the south and it seems that it will continue. / BBC
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