World Court orders Israel to open Rafah Crossing currently shut by Egypt

Along with its orders regarding Israel’s military operation in Rafah, the International Court of Justice orders Israel to “maintain open” the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and Gaza to allow the “unhindered provision at scale” of humanitarian aid to the region.

The Rafah Crossing has been closed since the IDF launched an operation to take over the Gaza side of the gate. Israel blames Egypt for refusing to reopen the crossing since.

Egypt does not want to reopen the crossing as long as the IDF is effectively managing the other side, and Israel has struggled to recruit another body to run the gate. The Palestinian Authority rejected an offer to take over Rafah, as Israel said officers would not be allowed to formally identify as PA due to feared pushback from far-right members of Israel’s coalition.

The court also orders Israel to allow “the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip” for commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, or other investigative bodies mandated by the UN to investigate allegations of genocide.

This order could prompt UN agencies to send delegations to start investigations on the genocide allegations being made by South Africa and other nations against Israel in the court.