ICJ rules Israel must give humanitarian aid access to Gaza
ICJ rules Israel must give humanitarian aid access to Gaza
M.U.H
23/10/202520
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, underscoring its legal obligation as an occupying power to ensure Palestinians have access to essential goods for survival.
In a ruling on Wednesday, the ICJ stated that Israel is obliged “to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival.”
The court added that Israel is “also under a negative obligation not to impede the provision of these supplies.”
ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa further stressed that Israel must “agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities,” including UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Israel has banned UNRWA from operating in the territory after accusing some of its staff of involvement in the al-Aqsa operation in October 2023
As part of its findings, the ICJ said that Israel has failed to show evidence that UNRWA was working for the Palestinian resistance group Hamas as the regime had claimed.
“The court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are members of Hamas,” Iwasawa said.
Meanwhile, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini welcomed the ICJ ruling, saying Israel must facilitate the agency’s distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
"I welcome the unambiguous ruling by the International Court of Justice today stating that - Israel is under an obligation to agree to & facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations & its entities, in particular UNRWA," Lazzarini said on X.
"Israel’s claim that Unrwa is infiltrated by Hamas was not substantiated, nor were allegations that Unrwa is not a neutral organisation," he stated.
The UN official added that the humanitarian organisation has "huge amounts of food & other life saving supplies on standby in Egypt & Jordan," and it possesses "the resources and expertise to immediately scale up the humanitarian response in Gaza & help alleviate the suffering of the civilian population."
Israel must not use starvation as method of warfare: ICJ
Iwasawa also said that Israel cannot use starvation as a method of warfare.
“The court recalls Israel’s obligation not to use starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare,” the ICJ judge noted.
The wide-ranging ICJ ruling came as aid groups are scrambling to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile ceasefire agreed earlier this month.
Hamas has been saying that Israel is failing to uphold the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement by refusing to reopen the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Last year, the same court ruled the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land illegal and stated that all illegal settlements had to be removed.
