World Court stops short of Gaza ceasefire order, says Israel must prevent genocide

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the genocide case is 'outrageous' and Israel will continue to do 'what is necessary' to defend itself.

Protesters carry flags and banners outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Post, File

The World Court ordered Israel on Friday to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire as requested by the plaintiff South Africa.

While the ruling denied Palestinian hopes of a binding order to halt the war in Gaza, it also represented a legal setback for Israel, which had hoped to throw out a case brought under the genocide convention established in the ashes of the Holocaust.