The World Court did not impose a ceasefire on Friday, January 26, as requested by South Africa, but rather directed Israel to stop acts of genocide against the Palestinian people and to provide greater aid to civilians.

The conflict has claimed the lives of over 26,000 Palestinians; earlier this month, South Africa filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an effort to have emergency measures authorized.

It accused Israel of state-led genocide throughout its offensive, which began when Hamas militants surged into Israel, murdering 1,200 people and capturing over 240 more. Israel asked for the lawsuit to be dropped.

The justices' decision on Friday mandated that Israel take all reasonable means to stop its troops from carrying out genocide, punish those responsible, and work to improve the humanitarian situation.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided that the Palestinians seemed to be a protected group under the 1948 Genocide Convention, even while it did not mandate a ceasefire and would not dismiss the genocide case. It did not rule on the veracity of the claims of genocide.

Israel has stated that it makes every effort to prevent civilian casualties and has labeled South Africa's accusations as untrue and "grossly distorted".