Live Updates: Israel bombs Rafah after top UN court orders it to halt assault

Saturday, May 25, 2024

06:00 GMT — Israel bombs Rafah after top UN court orders it to halt assault

Israel has bombed Gaza, including Rafah, a day after the top UN court ordered it to halt military operations in the southern city as efforts get underway in Paris to seek a ceasefire.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) also demanded the immediate release of all hostages still held in Gaza, hours after the Israeli military announced troops had recovered the bodies of three more of the captives from northern Gaza.

The Hague-based court, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also ordered Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which it closed earlier this month at the start of its assault on the city.

05:13 GMT — Pakistan, Maldives, Malaysia welcome new ICJ ruling against Israel

Pakistan, Maldives and Malaysia welcomed a new ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel regarding Gaza.

“UN Security Council and the international community should make efforts to implement the ICJ order to stop Israeli operations in Gaza,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.

Implementing the order to stop the Israeli military operations “will pave the way for peace in the world,” he said.

04:25 GMT — Blinken reiterated US position on Rafah in call with Israel's Gantz, State Dept says

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated President Joe Biden position on "a major Rafah operation" when he spoke with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, the US State Department said.

Blinken also discussed importance of Israel and Egypt concluding talks to reopen Rafah the crossing as soon as possible, the department said in a statement.

03:33 GMT — NYC college suspends officer who told pro-Palestine protester 'I support killing all you guys'

A campus safety officer at a public college in New York City has been suspended after footage circulated online showing him cursing at pro-Palestinian protesters during a graduation ceremony and saying he supported killing them all, the school confirmed.

An unidentified protester filmed the officer at Thursday's graduation for the College of Staten Island, part of the public City University of New York system that was rocked by a recent police crackdown on campus protests.

In a highly edited video shared by Instagram accounts affiliated with student protest organizers, a demonstrator can be heard yelling at the officer, "You support genocide!"

03:10 GMT — Arab diplomats, Macron discuss ways to stop Israel's war on Gaza

France's president, Qatar's prime minister and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have held talks on Israel's Gaza war and ways to set up a Palestinian state alongside Israel, the French presidency said.

French President Emmanuel Macron organised the meeting amid growing international concerns over Israel's genocidal war. It came a few hours after the UN's top court ordered Israel to halt its invasion in the Gaza city of Rafah.

Efforts to revive a "two-state" solution to the wider Middle East conflict and humanitarian efforts for Gaza dominated the talks.

02:48 GMT — UCLA police make first arrest in mob attack on pro-Palestine encampment

Three weeks after a mob attacked pro-Palestine activists encamped at the University of California, Los Angeles, police have made their first arrest in the violence, a man they say was seen in video footage beating victims with a wooden pole.

The suspect, identified as Edan On, 18, was taken into custody on Thursday in the city of Beverly Hills and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the UCLA Police Department said in a statement.

The man, who police said had no affiliation with UCLA, was reported by local media to be a Beverly Hills High School student.

02:30 GMT — White House, on ICJ ruling, says it has been 'clear and consistent' on Rafah

The White House has said it has been "clear and consistent" on its position on Rafah after the United Nation's top court ordered Israel to halt its invasion in the area.

The US says a full invasion in Rafah would be a humanitarian disaster, but it has continued to supply Tel Aviv with lethal weapons that Israel uses on the besieged Palestinians.

Legal experts say Israel must fully comply with ICJ's Rafah order, and its allies such as US and UK must suspend all arms sales to Tel Aviv as ignoring world court's ruling risks "genocide" complicity.

For our live updates from Friday, May 24, 2024, click here