March 28 (UPI) — Israel must without delay ensure Palestinians throughout Gaza have unhindered access to humanitarian aid and services, the World Court unanimously ordered Thursday as famine threatens the Palestinian enclave.
The order was issued by the International Court of Justice in The Hague as it considers a genocide case brought over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians amid its war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
In January, the World Court ordered Israel to take immediate steps to end atrocities being committed in the Palestinian enclave while it considers a final decision on the case.
But then earlier this month, South Africa, who brought the original case before the court, made an urgent request for additional provisions to be added to the Jan. 26 order to reflect the deteriorating conditions in Gaza.
The court on Thursday ordered Israel to “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay … the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza.”
The required aid listed was food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements as well as medical supplies and medical care.
It suggested Israel could fulfill this order by “increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open as long as necessary.”
The 15-judge court said it issued this directed “in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaze, in particular the spread of famine and starvation.
“The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, as noted in the Order of 26 January 2024, but that famine is setting in, whit at least 31 people, including 27 children, having already died of malnutrition and dehydration,” the Thursday order said.
The court’s order also directs Israel to ensure “with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group … including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance.”
Israel did not participate in the court proceedings and has rejected the court’s order. Following the original Jan. 26 decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described that case as a “vile attempt” to deny Israel its right to defend itself that is “blatant discrimination against the Jewish state.
The State of Palestine described the Thursday decision in a statement as affirming “the plausibility of genocide in Palestine, recognized the credible risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights of Palestinians in Gaza, as a protected group.”
It also lashed out at Israel for undermining the court’s directives with its “relentless aggression” and at states that have failed to adhere to and implement the court’s order.
Israel has been waging war in Gaza since Hamas launched a devastating surprise attack on the Middle Eastern country Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 Israelis and abducting another 253.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has razed much of Gaza, displacing some 1.9 million of its 2.2 million Palestinians. A climbing death toll from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Thursday sat at 32,552 Palestinians, mostly women and children, killed.
Gaza is dependent on aid, and received some 500 trucks worth of humanitarian goods prior to the war. When it started, aid ceased, and only started to trickle in about nearly two weeks later.
But the need has grown as the war has continued, and to circumvent Israel’s strict controls over what, when and where aid can enter Gaza, countries, such as the United States, have turned to airdropping supplies. The Biden administration is also rushing to build a pier in Gaza where goods can be delivered.
Israel has blamed at least some of the issues over aid on the United Nations, stating it has failed to distribute the humanitarian goods it has, while the Unite Nations has been pointing its finger at Israel, accusing it of preventing aid from getting into Gaza.
“Israel blames everyone but itself for the mass starvation in Gaza. The International Court of Justice didn’t buy that self-exculpatory lie and ordered Israel to start allowing unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Kenneth Roth, former Human Rights Watch executive direct and current visiting professor at Princeton University, said on X following the ruling.
