The UN representatives and the Palestinians in the International Court of Justice accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to help Gaza, the first day of hearings about Israel’s obligations to facilitate help deliveries.
Since March 2, Israel has completely cut all supplies to 2.3 million residents of Gaza Strip, and food stored for a high fire at the beginning of the year almost exhausted.
At the opening of hearings in the UN Superior Court, the UN legal advisor said that Israel had a clear obligation as a force of occupation to allow and facilitate humanitarian aid for people in Gaza.
“In the specific context of the current situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, these obligations imply that all relevant UN entities carry out activities for the benefit of the local population,” said Elinor Hammarskjold.
Palestinian representative Ammar Hijazi said that Israel was using humanitarian aid as “a gun of war”, while people in Gaza faced the starvation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel had presented his written position to the audiences, which he described as a “circus.”
Speaking in Jerusalem on Monday, Saar said that the court was being politicized, while the UN was not eliminating the employees of its Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa, who are members of Gaza’s militant groups.
“They are abusing the Court once again to try to force Israel to cooperate with an organization infested with Hamas terrorists,” said Saar. “The objective is to deprive Israel of its most basic right to defend itself.”
The UN said in August that nine UNRWA employees may have been involved in the assault of October 7, 2023 of Hamas and that he had been fired. According to Israel, another Hamas commander, confirmed by UNRWA as one of its employees, was killed in Gaza in October.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, was in charge of forming an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to facilitate the aid to the Palestinians delivered by international states and groups, including the United Nations.
Israel has repeatedly said that it would not allow the entry of goods and supplies to Gaza until Hamas releases all the remaining hostages. He has accused Hamas of kidnapping humanitarian aid, which the militant group denies.
“This case is about Israel destroying the foundations of life in Palestine, while blocking the UN and other humanitarian aid suppliers by providing help to save lives to the population,” said Hijazi, head of the Palestinian mission to the Netherlands, to the audience.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said Friday that he had pressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine to Gaza. Germany, France and Great Britain called last week to allow the passage without obstacles to humanitarian aid in the Palestinian territory besieged.
The advisory opinions of the ICJ have legal and political weight, although they are not binding and the court has no application powers.
After the hearings, the World Court will probably take several months to form their opinion.
