GENEVA

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.

South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ late last month and asked it to grant emergency measures to end the bloodshed in Gaza, where more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7.

By 15 votes to two, the ICJ, in its interim ruling, said: “The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention.”

The top UN court was particularly referring to: “(a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”.

Judges from Israel and Uganda were the only ones who voted against this measure.

Regarding the blockade of humanitarian assistance and services, the Hague-based court said that Israel “shall take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."

It also ordered Israel to take "effective measures" to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts.

The court said that it is "acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering."

"In the Court’s view, at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the (Genocide) Convention," it said.

Israel must report to the ICJ within one month regarding its compliance with the order.

Israeli judge Aharon Barak voted in favor of only two provisional measures.

Those measures were for Israel to “prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip" and to take "immediate and effective measures" to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.

The announced decision has been taken with the vote of 17 judges, including president and vice president of ICJ as well as judges from Slovakia, France, Morocco, Somali, China, India, Jamaica, Lebanon, Japan, Germany, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Uganda and Israel.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The Israeli response has killed 26,083 Palestinians and injured 64,487 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.