Gaza live: Israel to build 'different government' in Gaza, says defence minister

The Palestinian Authority has backed Egypt’s decision to reject opening the Rafah border crossing until a legal agreement is reached between Cairo and Israel. 

“In light of the official contacts that took place with our brothers in the Arab Republic of Egypt, it was agreed to bring relief aid to our besieged people in the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing on a temporary basis,” the PA said in a statement.

The Kerem Shalom border crossing runs between Israel and Gaza. US officials previously complained that Egypt was preventing aid that had piled up outside Rafah from travelling into Israel.

Cairo says it wants a new legal agreement in place before opening Rafah, the sole crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed a total of 35,857 Palestinians and wounded an additional 80,293, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday.

Israel launched strikes on Rafah on Friday despite the top UN court’s call to halt its offensive there.

The US will send a team of senior officials to Cairo next week to discuss how to reopen Rafah border crossing, the White House said in a statement after President Biden’s call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The US has been pressing for Egypt to reopen Rafah border crossing since it was seized by Israel in May.

In a call with Biden, Sisi agreed to allow aid to move towards the Kerem Shalom border crossing which connects the Gaza Strip and Israel. US officials said previously that Egypt was not allowing trucks to move towards the crossing. 

However, Egypt and the US didn’t agree to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

“Biden also expressed his full commitment to support efforts to reopen the Rafah crossing with arrangements acceptable to both Egypt and Israel and agreed to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further discussions,” the White House said in a statement.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he wanted "legal mechanisms" to be put in place to bring aid into Gaza from the Rafah border crossing in a call with US President Joe Biden.

An Egyptian readout of the call said the two leaders agreed to increase the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza and transfer them to the United Nations through the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. 

Egypt said the aid will go through Israel’s crossing with Gaza until there are legal mechanisms in place to reopen the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.

The call between the leaders came after US officials - including US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken - upped their rhetoric against Egypt, suggesting Cairo was to blame for the Rafah border crossing's closure.

The border has been closed since Israeli troops seized it earlier in May.

Turkey’s foreign ministry welcomed the ICJ’s ruling asking Israel to halt its offensive on Rafah and open the city’s border crossing.

“No country in the world is above the law. We expect all decisions taken by the Court to be quickly implemented by Israel. To ensure this, we invite the UN Security Council to do its part,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

A judge once nominated by US President Joe Biden to serve as a legal advisor at the State Department joined the ICJ's majority to demand Israel halt its offensive on Rafah.

The UN’s top court voted 13-2 to ask Israel to stop its assault and open the Rafah border crossing.

Sarah Cleveland, who joined the majority, was appointed to the court in November 2023. 

At the time, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed her appointment, saying Cleveland’s vision advanced an ICJ that is “judicially independent, preserves the integrity and authority of the court and ensures the dignity of all people”.

Cleveland was never confirmed as the State Department's legal advisor. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed South Africa’s claims against Israel as ‘'false, outrageous and disgusting'. 

Netanyahu said Israel’s war on Gaza has not led to the destruction of the Palestinian people.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the ICJ’s ruling on Friday ordering Israel to halt its military offensive on Rafah.

Ramaphosa also said he is concerned the United Nations Security Council has not successfully reduced Palestinian suffering in Gaza.

The top UN court has no way to immediately enforce its order.

South Africa has welcomed the ICJ's ruling asking for a halt to Israel's offensive on Rafah. 

“This order is groundbreaking, as it is the first time that explicit mention is made for Israel to halt its military action in any area of Gaza,” said Zane Dangor, director general of South Africa's Ministry of International Relations.

Dangor said the ruling by the UN’s top court was “de facto calling for a ceasefire”.

“It is ordering the major party in this conflict to end its belligerent action against the people of Palestine,” he said.

Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel has no intention of following a ruling by the UN’s top court, and will continue fighting in Rafah.

Gantz said Israel is “obligated to continue fighting to return its hostages and ensure the safety of its citizens, at any time and place - including in Rafah”.

Despite vowing to disregard the ICJ’s ruling to stop fighting in the city, Gantz said Israel is acting according to international law.

Yemen's Houthis have launched attacks on three ships in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Sea, the group’s spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said on Friday.

Sarea said the group fired missiles at the Essex vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. Attacking ships in the Mediterranean would mark a broadening of the Houthis' maritime attacks.

British maritime security company Ambrey said the Essex had been transiting recently between Egypt’s Mediterranean ports of Alexandria and Port Said.

“Houthi language indicated they did not hit the vessel," Ambrey added.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the International Court of Justice’s ruling against Israel underlines the “gravity of the situation in Gaza”.

The group said Palestinians are facing a famine in Gaza, after the UN’s top court ordered Israel to stop attacking Rafah and open its border crossing. 

“Yet the Israeli government continues to flout the World Court’s binding orders by obstructing the entry of lifesaving aid and services,” HRW said.

Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it launched heavy-calibre mortar shells on Israeli troops south of Gaza city.

The strike took place on Netzarim “corridor”, which has been a site of previous Hamas attacks on Israeli forces.

The East-West highway is being used by Israel to divide Gaza in two.

Israel launched multiple missiles on a packed residential neighbourhood in Rafah on Friday, defying the ICJ’s ruling to halt its operations in the city.

A video circulating on social media platform X showed three back-to-back explosions in Rafah with plumes of smoke rising.

MEE couldn’t independently verify the video.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the world court's ruling for failing to draw a connection between its demand for an end to the Israeli assault on Rafah and a demand to return Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

He said the failure was "a moral collapse and a moral disaster".

Reporting by Reuters