Security Council to meet after UN top court's Gaza ruling
New York, New York - The UN Security Council will meet next week over the decision by the global body's top court calling for Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, the council's presidency announced Friday.
The Wednesday meeting was called for by Algeria, whose ministry of foreign affairs said it would give "binding effect to the pronouncement of the International Court of Justice on the provisional measures imposed on the Israeli occupation."
The ICJ on Friday said Israel must prevent genocidal acts in its military campaign and allow aid into Gaza, but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
The decision "gives the clear message that in order to do all the things that they are asking for, you need a ceasefire for it to happen," Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said.
"So fasten your seat belts," he said, hinting that the Arab Group, represented on the council by Algeria, would push for one.
US continues to block ceasefire in Gaza
The Security Council has only agreed to two resolutions since the October 7 Hamas attacks kickstarted Israel's latest and most devastating assault on Gaza.
In December, the council demanded aid deliveries "at scale" to Gaza's besieged population, while Israel's ally the United States has vetoed calls for a ceasefire despite international pressure.
Israel's assault began after the October 7 attack by Hamas that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages and Israel says around 132 of them remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead captives.
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas and launched a military offensive that the health ministry in Gaza says has killed at least 26,083 people, about 70% of them women and children.
Palestine has been under occupation for decades, with international human rights experts deploring the Israeli apartheid regime.
The ICJ, based in The Hague, while refraining from ordering an immediate halt to the almost four-month-old siege, said Israel must do everything to "prevent the commission of all acts within the scope" of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Cover photo: MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP