Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), or World Court, the body's president Nawaf Salam said provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and conditions had been met for a new emergency order.

"Israel must immediately halt its military offensive" in Rafah, he said.

The court backed a South African request to order Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah, a week after Pretoria called for the measure in a case accusing Israel of genocide.

Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case's accusations of genocide as baseless, arguing in court that its operations in Gaza are self-defence and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked Israel on October 7.

An Israeli government spokesman said "no power on Earth would stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza".

Israel launched its assault on the southern city of Rafah this month, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee a city that had become a refuge to around half of the population's 2.3 million people.

While the ruling by the ICJ is a blow to Israel's international standing, the court does not have a police force to enforce its orders. In another case on its docket, Russia has so far ignored a 2022 order by the court to halt its military campaign in Ukraine.
(Agencies)