Trudeau says Israel needs to follow ICJ ruling and halt operations in Rafah

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says military oper‐ ations in Rafah must stop now that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has or‐ dered Israel to halt its of‐ fensive in the southern Gaza city.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Friday, the prime minister repeated Canada's call for a ceasefire and for Hamas to release the hostages it took on Oct. 7.

"There also must be no more military operations in Rafah by Israel, and certainly no escalation of military op‐ erations in Rafah," Trudeau said in response to a ques‐ tion about Friday's court ruling.

"The ICJ's proposals are binding and we expect every‐ one to follow them as a mat‐ ter of international law."

WATCH | ICJ rules Israel should 'immediately halt' military operations in Rafah:

The ICJ decision sent a three-part message to Israel by ordering the country to halt the Rafah offensive, to allow war crimes investiga‐ tors access to Gaza and to immediately increase hu‐ manitarian aid into the re‐ gion.

While Israel is unlikely to comply with the order, which resulted from an appeal by South Africa, the order could ratchet up pressure on Ben‐ jamin Netanyahu's govern‐ ment.

ICJ president Nawaf Salam, describing the hu‐ manitarian situation in Rafah as "exceptionally grave," read the ruling as a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside the court in The Hague.

Although the court has broad powers to order an end to the Israeli military campaign, it does not have a police force to enforce its or‐ ders. Russia, for example, has ignored a ruling from the same court to halt its fullscale invasion of Ukraine.

Speaking on CBC Radio's The House, International De‐ velopment Minister Ahmed Hussen said he hopes the ICJ decision pushes Israel to re‐ consider its plans for Rafah.

"I hope it goes a long way in terms of having Israel re‐ consider its ongoing military operation in Rafah, which is, I believe, misguided and quite frankly does a lot of harm to civilians," Hussen told host Catherine Cullen in an inter‐ view airing Saturday.

WATCH | ICJ rules Israel should 'immediately halt' military operations in Rafah:

Attacks on Oct. 7 in southern Israel led by Hamas - considered a terrorist group by several Western nations, including Canada - killed around 1,200 people. Several of the dead were Canadian citizens.

Israel's offensive since the war began has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, ac‐ cording to Gaza's Health Min‐

istry, and has caused a hu‐ manitarian crisis and nearfamine conditions.

For months, Israel has been saying Rafah is Hamas's last major stronghold and has been vowing to invade even as several allies have warned an all-out assault would spell disaster.

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, indi‐ cated his country's military won't change its course in Rafah despite the ICJ order.

"The State of Israel is committed to continue fight‐ ing to return its hostages and promise the security of its cit‐ izens wherever and when‐ ever necessary, including in

Rafah," Gantz said.

Trudeau raised concerns about the humanitarian im‐ plications of a Rafah offen‐ sive in a phone call with Gan‐ tz in March. The prime minis‐ ter also issued a joint state‐ ment with his Australian and New Zealand counterparts in February urging Israel to avoid operations in the south Gaza city.

The Liberals and NDP passed a parliamentary mo‐ tion in March that calls on Canada to "support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court."

But NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said the Liberals' response to the conflict has been "weak."

"They have not done any of the actions that they need to do, and frankly we're run‐ ning out of time. Children are dying every day because of the inaction of the global community and Mr. Trudeau has been complicit in that the entire time," she told CBC News.

McPherson said the Liber‐ als should impose an arms embargo on Israel and sanc‐ tion members of the Israeli war cabinet. She also said Canada should recognize a Palestinian state, as the gov‐ ernments of Norway, Ireland and Spain indicated they would earlier this week.

When asked for reaction to the ICJ ruling, a spokesper‐ son for Conservative Leader

Pierrre Poilievre put the blame for the conflict squarely on Hamas.

"This war started on Octo‐ ber 7th with the brutal slaughter and kidnapping of innocent Israeli and Canadi‐ an civilians and can end as soon as Hamas releases the hostages, lays down its arms and unconditionally surren‐ ders," Sebastian Skamski, Poilievre's press secretary, said in an email.

WATCH | Parties in‐ volved in Israel-Hamas war are bound by international law: UN ambassador

Rafah is in the southern‐ most part of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt. More than one million peo‐ ple sought refuge there in re‐ cent months after fleeing fighting elsewhere. Many of them are living in teeming tent camps.

Israel started issuing evac‐ uation orders about two weeks ago as it began opera‐ tions on the edge of the city, but the court concluded those evacuation and hu‐ manitarian plans were not sufficient.

Since then, the army says an estimated one million people have left as its forces press deeper inside. Rafah is also home to a critical cross‐ ing for aid and the UN says the flow of aid reaching it has plunged since the incursion began, though commercial trucking has continued to en‐ ter Gaza.