Saturday 27 / April / 2024
The United Nations's top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), on Thursday ordered Israel to take all measures to address Gaza's humanitarian crisis, including opening more land crossings to allow desperately needed aid into the Palestinian territory.
"Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but...famine is setting in," the Hague-based court said.
The new measures were requested as part of an ongoing case brought by South Africa, which asked the ICJ to consider whether Israel is committing genocide in its military campaign launched in Gaza after the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas militants.
The Israeli military has repeatedly said that Israel is ready to let in unlimited amounts of aid into Gaza but that international aid organizations are unable to distribute the aid, leading to the bottleneck.
Yet Israeli allies, including the United States and Germany, have voiced concerns over the lack of access for aid deliveries. In response to the situation, aid is also being delivered by air and sea but aid agencies say those methods are less efficient than land-based deliveries.
In January, the ICJ, also known as the World Court, made a preliminary ruling ordering Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but stopped short of telling it to halt the war.
It also instructed Israel to "take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance."
The genocide case will take years to finalize, but South Africa sought more provisional measures, citing starvation in Gaza.
The UN and international aid groups blame Israeli military restrictions, ongoing hostilities, and a breakdown in public order for hampering deliveries.
