ISRAEL has continued its relentless attacks on Rafah despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering it to put an end to the military operation there, and multiple deaths were reported from central and northern Gaza, which have been subjected to renewed attacks.
The Shaboura camp and areas close to the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah on Saturday were targeted, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said. Several people who have been injured in the bombardment have been transferred to the hospital, he said.
The hospital renewed its appeal for fuel deliveries “to ensure its continued operation”, saying it was the only one in Rafah governorate still receiving patients.
The ICJ ruling, the third of its kind this year, ordered Israel to halt its offensive, citing “immense risk” to some 1.4 million Palestinians taking shelter in Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza. More than 800,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee Rafah since Israel launched the current offensive on May 7.
The UN’s top court seeks to rein in the mounting death toll of Palestinians since October, while also alleviating a continuing humanitarian crisis resulting from the internal displacement and severe hunger trailing most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people. Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed and vast swaths of Gaza have been flatted by Israeli carpetbombing.
Israel gave no indication it was preparing to change course, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticising the ICJ ruling, calling the charges of genocide brought by South Africa as “false, outrageous and morally repugnant”.
The UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories called on Saturday for sanctions against Israel for defying the court.
“Be sure: Israel will not stop this madness until WE make it stop. Member states must impose sanctions, arms embargo and suspend diplo[matic]/political relations with Israel till it ceases its assault,” Francesca Albanese posted on X.
Israel also hit a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza’s as-Saftawi neighbourhood in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera journalists on the ground, citing medical sources.
The Palestinian news agency, Wafa, confirmed that at least 10 people were killed and 17 others injured in the series of attacks on the neighbourhood located just south of Jabalia.
Israeli forces stepped up attacks on Jabalia camp on Saturday, pushing already displaced people to flee the area anew.
Israeli warplanes also bombed a house located in another northern Gaza city of Beit Hanoon, killing 10 people, including women and children, according to Wafa.
In Gaza City, an Israeli attack targeting a family home in the Sabra neighbourhood, killed a woman and injured other people. An unspecified number of people were also reported killed by an Israeli air attack on a residential building in the Daraj neighbourhood, according to Wafa.
