Israel's Response to the ICJ Decision on Rafah: Mitigating Strategies and Future Implications

A report by Amale Chehedeh, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

In formulating its response to the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which ordered Israel to immediately halt operations in Rafah, Tel Aviv sought to obscure the global and local public opinion.

Israel claimed that while continuing the combat there, it would ensure not to kill civilians and to keep them out of the range of its artillery and military machinery.

The Israeli response was crafted by the National Security Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after a consultative meeting called by Netanyahu immediately following the decision. It concluded with Israel declaring that its operations in Rafah did not and would not create conditions aimed at exterminating civilians, whether wholly or partially.

While stating that its military operations were conducted in accordance with the law and targeted Hamas fighters, Israel emphasized how it had evacuated around 800 Palestinians, attempting thereby to claim its concern for civilians and to promote the idea that the Rafah operation was carried out with US consent.

In an attempt to mitigate the impact of the court's decision, Israel asserted that it would continue its efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and work according to the law to minimize damage to civilian populations as much as possible. It also promised to keep the Rafah crossing open for the transportation of humanitarian aid, despite its insistence on preventing Hamas from controlling the crossing.

From the battlefield to negotiations, Israel argues that the court's decision will help reduce pressure on Hamas to advance the hostages exchange deal.
Regarding the United States, a knowledgeable source about the negotiations stated that Washington currently considers Qatar a better partner for advancing the negotiations than Egypt, following the strained relationship with Israel due to control over the Rafah crossing.

Until the resumption of negotiations becomes clearer, various security, military, and civilian groups are intensifying their efforts to expand the call for an immediate halt to the war and the return of hostages at any cost. Amid threats from leadership to intensify and expand the fighting in Gaza and the possibility of escalation in the north, information has revealed that the Israeli army is suffering from a significant shortage of soldiers and field officers, along with a substantial decline in ammunition stocks and a shortage of military equipment.

The armored vehicles possessed by the army today, after seven months of the Gaza war, are less than half of what it had ten years ago, and far below the red line drawn by the General Staff.