Israel-Hamas Conflict: ICJ Orders Israel to Ensure Food Supplies Enter Gaza
The recent measures were requested by South Africa as part of its ongoing case which accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
Judges Order Israel to Ensure Basic Food Supplies Enter Gaza
Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) unanimously ordered Israel to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure that basic food supplies enter Gaza without any delays amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Worsening Conditions in Gaza
In their order, the judges noted that Gazans are facing worsening conditions of life. They stated, “The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine…but that famine is setting in.”
UN Court Reaffirms Measures for Humanitarian Assistance
The UN top court reaffirmed the measures first outlined in January that Israel must take action to ensure unhindered delivery of food, water, electricity, fuel, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians across Gaza.
Israel could do so “by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary,” the judges added.
Call for Unimpeded Humanitarian Passage
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated its call for “swift, safe and unimpeded humanitarian passage (of aid) through all crossings,” emphasizing that there is “no alternative to large-scale deliveries of aid by land in Gaza.”
Several countries have been air-dropping aid into Gaza and using ships to deliver it to the enclave’s Mediterranean coast, but these methods have been deemed expensive and inefficient by the UN and other organizations working in Gaza.
