UN court begins hearing call for Israel to halt offensive in Rafah

Judges enter the International Court of Justice (Peter Dejong/AP)

The United Nations’ top court has opened two days of hearings into a request from South Africa to press Israel to halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought shelter.

It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas amounts to genocide.