Katie Couric Instagram – 🚨The International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest court, has ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a ruling that could have far reaching consequences though the court has no power to enforce it. The ICJ stopped short of ordering a cease-fire but granted a number of the emergency measures requested by South Africa while it hears the full case accusing Israel of genocide. The US and Israel have dismissed the accusations. Though the ICJ’s decisions are legally binding, they can be hard to enforce. Russia for instance, ignored a 2022 order to cease its war against Ukraine. “The court considers that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip remains extremely vulnerable,” Judge Joan Donoghue said. “The court considers that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further before the court renders its final judgement.” More than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, the majority of them women and children. Israel’s campaign is a response to a Hamas-led attack on Oct 7 in which Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed and around 240 were taken to Gaza as hostages. More than 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza. CIA Director Bill Burns is set to meet with Qatar’s prime minister and the director of Mossad this weekend in an effort to break a deadlock in talks for a new hostage deal with Hamas. In three hours of testimony on Jan 11, South Africa’s legal team laid out the war’s devastating impact on civilians. “It is becoming ever clearer that huge swaths of Gaza – entire towns, villages, refugee camps – are being wiped from the map,” Blinne Ni Ghealaigh, an Irish lawyer on the South African team, said at the hearing. “On average, 247 Palestinians are being killed and are at risk of being killed each day, many of them literally blown to pieces. They include 48 mothers each day, two every hour. And over 117 children each day.” Reporting via NBC News and The Washington Post. Image via Getty The Hague, Netherlands