Israel-Palestine live: Netanyahu rejects Hamas ceasefire proposal, vows ‘total victory’

The international charity, Oxfam, has welcomed Friday’s ICJ court ruling,  which requests Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the commission of all acts in relation to the articles of the Genocide Convention.

The charity called it a “crucial step towards recognizing the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and stopping the bloodshed,” that around 2 million Palestinians are subjected to. 

In a statement, the organisation said: “The UK government must respect the court ruling, and cease its complicity in the crisis, starting by immediately stopping arms sales to Israel given the risk of them being used to commit war crimes and calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.  Anything less will be a stain on the UK's reputation as an upholder of international law.”
 

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Friday that Israeli forces are continuing to target the al-Amal Hospital and their headquarters in Khan Younis.

The organisation said that the attacks have been ongoing for five days, with intense shelling and gunfire in the hospital’s vicinity. 
 

Turkey’s president Erdogan welcomed the ICJ ruling on Friday, vowing to follow up on developments.

“I find the temporary injunction taken by the International Court of Justice regarding the inhumane attacks in Gaza valuable and welcome it,” he said. 

“We will continue to follow the process to ensure that war crimes committed against innocent Palestinian civilians do not go unpunished,” he added. 
 

Thomas White, the director of the UN agency Unrwa said that Israel’s attacks on buildings where “terrified civilians are sheltering,” are abhorrent, and must stop immediately. 

The statement came following an Israeli attack on a training centre in Khan Younis, where 12 Palestinians were killed and 75 wounded. 
 

Spain has issued a statement welcoming the ICJ ruling on Friday. 

“We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice and call on the parties to implement the interim measures it has decreed,” Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said on X.

“We will continue to advocate for peace and an end to the war, the release of hostages, access to humanitarian aid and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, so that both nations can coexist in peace and security,” he added.
 

Iran’s foreign minister slammed Israel on Friday following the ICJ court ruling, saying that they must be brought to justice. 

"Today, the authorities of the fake Israeli regime... must be brought to justice immediately for committing genocide and unprecedented war crimes against the Palestinians," foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on the X platform.
 

Naledi Pandor, the South African foreign minister, told reporters on Friday following the ICJ ruling that she would have wanted the ICJ to call for a ceasefire. 

“I believe in exercising the order there would have to be a ceasefire, without it the order doesn't work. I would have wanted a ceasefire,” she said.

“I hope for it, but delivering humanitarian aid and taking measures that reduce levels of harm…for me requires a ceasefire,” she added. 
 

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant slammed the ICJ on Friday, saying Israel “does not need to be lectured on morality”, according to Israeli media. 

“Those who seek justice, will not find it on the leather chairs of the court chambers in The Hague - they will find it in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, where 136 hostages are held, and where those who murdered our children are hiding,” he added.

Palestinian civilians in Gaza took to social media on Friday to express that Israeli bombardment and attacks continued throughout the ICJ court ruling. 

Palestinians are demanding an immediate ceasefire, and say that anything less is not adequate. 

Israel will have to halt fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip if it wants to adhere to the orders of the International Court of Justice, South Africa's minister of international relations said on Friday after a ruling by the UN's top court.

The ruling was met with mixed reactions, as Palestinians pointed out it did not equate to an immediate and complete ceasefire.

In the ruling, the case ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and do more to help civilians - although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

Not all Palestinians have met the ICJ ruling with enthusiasm.

Hind Khoudary, a Gaza-based journalist and contributor to Middle East Eye, said in a post “congratulations to the ICJ and the world. You failed Palestinians again.”

Another journalist, named Bayan, said that Israeli forces bombed Gaza throughout the duration of the ruling, calling for a ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed cabinet members not to make any public comments on the ICJ ruling on Friday, according to Israeli media. 

According to national broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu, via National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, instructed government ministers to hold off on any public statements before the release of an official government position on the matter.

However, both far-right ministers National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir made comments, condemning the court. 

The Palestinian minister of foreign affairs, Riyadh al-Maliki, issued a statement on Friday responding to the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel.

He said that Palestine “welcomes the significant order by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s case against Israel under the Genocide Convention.”

He also added that “Israel failed to convince the Court that it was not violating the Genocide Convention.”

His statement read: “ The ICJ judges saw through Israel’s politicisation, deflection, and outright lies. They assessed the facts and the law, and ordered provisional measures that recognized the gravity of the situation on the ground and the veracity of South Africa’s application. Israel is accused of destroying an entire people and will now stand accused of Genocide, the crime of all crimes.”

A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters on Friday that Israel must implement the ICJ’s court decisions.

He added that the ICJ’s decision was an important development that contributes to isolating Israel and exposing its crimes in Gaza. 
 

The ICJ ruling on Friday has been met with mixed reactions.

While the South African government praised it, calling it a decisive victory, and the Palestinian foreign ministry said they welcomed the ICJ’s orders, others have been more sceptical. 

Mohammed el-Kurd, an author from occupied east Jerusalem said: “The ICJ has failed to implement South Africa’s first and most important requested provisional measure: 'the State of Israel shall immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.' Not shocking, but stings nonetheless,” he said in a post on X. 

The ruling stopped short of ordering a complete ceasefire, which has also caused mixed reactions.

Ahmed al-Naouq, a London-based Palestinian journalist, posted a sarcastic response on social media platform X, suggesting that the court was lenient with Israel and should have called for a total ceasefire.