- The UN's top court also says the Rafah border crossing with Egypt must be opened for the entry of humanitarian aid "at scale".
- The ICJ can make legally binding rulings in disputes between countries, but has little way of enforcing its orders.
The International Court of Justice rules that Israel must halt its military offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza.
The UN's top court also says the Rafah border crossing with Egypt must be opened for the entry of humanitarian aid "at scale".
The ICJ can make legally binding rulings in disputes between countries, but has little way of enforcing its orders.
South Africa had asked the ICJ to order it as an emergency measure, saying Israel’s actions in Rafah amount to a “genocidal” operation and threaten the survival of the Palestinian people.
The request forms part of a larger case South Africa has brought before the court about Israel's actions in Gaza.
Israel has previously said the Rafah offensive is key to defeating Hamas following the 7 October attacks and called South Africa's case "wholly unfounded".
SA president quotes Mandela in welcoming ruling
Speaking during a campaign walkabout near Nelson Mandela's home in Soweto, President Cyril Ramaphosa quoted the late leader: "We will not be completely free until the people of Palestine are free."
Former President Mandela was an ardent proponent of Palestinian nationhood. Ramaphosa said he taught South Africans about the connection with Palestinians.
"A lack of justice for Palestine was also a lack of justice for South Africa," he said.
Foreign ministry chief Zane Dangor described the ruling as "groundbreaking", referring to the fact it was the first time the court had made an explicit order to Israel to halt its actions in a part of Gaza.
"We hope the UN Security Council takes note of this," he said, adding that South Africa will be approaching the UNSC with the order.
As a reminder, South Africa brought the original case before the ICJ that has led to today's provisional measures.
Ruling is 'critical intervention' - Oxfam
UK-based charity Oxfam describes the ICJ ruling as a "critical intervention to stop Israel's military onslaught on Rafah", and says Israel must "immediately comply" and halt its "brutal offensive".
Sally Abi-Khalil, the aid organisation's Middle East regional director, calls on the Israeli authorities to "release its stranglehold on the aid pipeline" and allow in some 4,500 trucks carrying food, water and medicine that are currently stuck in al-Arish, the Egyptian city closest to Gaza.
She also urges countries to stop supplying weapons to Israel "immediately", saying if they continue they are defying the ICJ ruling and "complicit in any war crimes committed in Gaza".
Israel has insisted it is facilitating the entry of aid and has blamed aid agencies for failing to distribute the supplies that enter Gaza.
SA Jewish Board of Deputies criticises ICJ case
South Africa's Jewish Board of Deputies has criticised the country's government for bringing the case against Israel at the ICJ, accusing it of "using a legal processes for something that requires political solutions".
"This is especially when the ICJ has no jurisdiction over the brutal terror organisation Hamas," it said.
Bringing the ICJ case had failed to save lives, the SAJBD said.
"South Africa has forever tainted itself in its a willingness to overlook the horrendous crimes of Hamas, impugning its reputation as honest peace broker," it said.
More reaction from Israel and Hamas
We're getting some more reaction from Israel and Hamas now in the wake of today's ICJ ruling.
A Hamas spokesman tells the BBC: "We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice, which demands that the brutal Zionist entity stop its aggression against our people in the city of Rafah."
Meanwhile Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid says: "The fact that the ICJ did not even directly connect the end of the military operation in Rafah to the release of the hostages and to Israel's right to defend itself against terror is an abject moral failure."
He says that Israel "was brutally attacked from Gaza" and forced to defend itself against Hamas, adding: "There is no country in the world which wouldn't defend itself against an attack like that."