UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recalled that the decisions of the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) are binding, according to the UN press service’s statement.

According to The Iran Project, "The Secretary-General recalls that, pursuant to the Charter and to the Statute of the Court, decisions of the Court are binding and trusts that the parties will duly comply with the Order from the Court," the statement said.

Moreover, the UN Secretary-General "will promptly transmit the notice of the provisional measures ordered by the Court to the Security Council."

Earlier in the day, the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel should stop the military offensive in Rafah and keep the Rafah border crossing open to provide aid to the Palestinian population. The ruling was read out during the hearing by ICJ President Nawaf Salam. Israel, in accordance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, must "immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah" that could affect the town’s population, he said. The decision also calls on Israel to keep the Rafah crossing open for humanitarian aid to Palestinians and to take steps to ensure "unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip" for investigators and fact-finding missions.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, killing residents of border settlements and taking over 240 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military operation in Gaza to eradicate Hamas’ military and political structure and to release all the hostages. In late November 2023, a temporary humanitarian truce was brokered by Egypt and Qatar and lasted a week. According to Israel, 110 hostages were released then. On December 1, the ceasefire was broken and combat operations resumed and are still going on.