The Israeli defense team in The Hague expressed concern about the fact that only two votes out of 16 members of the panel of judges tipped the balance within the International Court of Justice to avoid issuing an order to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, after a third request submitted by South Africa.

Israel fears that South Africa will submit a new request, which means that the court may accept it again and oblige Israel to stop the war.

According to the Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom, the ruling of seven judges, a minority opinion, in last Thursday’s hearing supported Israel’s cessation of fighting in Gaza, considering that it violates previous court orders regarding its duty to care for the humanitarian situation of the residents of the Strip.

Israeli sources believe that the political capital before the Tel Aviv government is running out, and that international pressure is increasing.

The seven judges who supported stopping the war wrote: Even if Israel acts satisfactorily, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse, and only stopping the war will stop its deterioration.

Although the request was rejected by a majority of nine judges, many of them criticized the humanitarian situation in Gaza.