Israel has previously said that attacking Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, is key to destroying Hamas.

Hamas is in charge of Gaza but is classed as a terrorist organisation by many countries and organisations, including the UK, US and EU.

The war started after Hamas killed hundreds of Israeli civilians and took hundreds of hostages in attacks on 7 October last year.

However, the ICJ doesn’t have the power to actually enforce its rulings, and Israel said that it would ignore the judgement.

UK-based charity Oxfam said the ruling was a “critical intervention” and that Israel must “immediately” halt its “brutal offensive”.

The ICJ also called for the immediate release of all the Israeli hostages that Hamas captured on 7 October and took back to Gaza.

Taking hostages is a war crime, and the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court recently applied for arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel, saying there was evidence that they’re both guilty of war crimes.