"Israel has not and will not conduct military operations in the Rafah area that would create living conditions likely to cause the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population as a whole or in part," a joint statement from the Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council said.

The ICJ ruled on a request by South Africa to order an end to Israel's offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide."

In the ruling released Thursday, the ICJ also said Israel must keep the Rafah crossing open to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza "without hindrance."

Israel must also "take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded passage to the Gaza Strip of any duly authorized United Nations fact-finding mission or commission of inquiry" to investigate allegations of genocide.

The State of Israel must also submit a report within 90 days on the measures ordered by the ICJ.

The decision was approved by 13 votes to two, ICJ President Lebanese Judge Nawaf Salam said.

The ruling stems from a petition filed with the ICJ by South Africa in December, two months after the start of a war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent any acts of genocide and to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

With the situation in Rafah worsening, South Africa asked the ICJ for additional measures, which were released Thursday at the court's headquarters in the Netherlands.

Unlike the International Criminal Court (ICC), also based in The Hague, which tries individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the ICJ seeks to resolve legal disputes submitted to it by states.

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and began work in 1946. It has 15 judges.

The ICJ's rulings are legally binding, but the court has no means of enforcing them.

Israel has told the ICJ that an imposed ceasefire would allow Hamas fighters to regroup and would make it impossible to free hostages still held by the Palestinian Islamist movement.

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