The United Nations’ highest legal body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said on Wednesday that Israel has an obligation to ensure that the basic needs of Gaza’s civilian population are met.
The 11-judge panel added that Israel is obliged to support relief efforts provided by the United Nations in the Gaza Strip and its entities, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Israel has not substantiated its claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of Hamas, the judges said.
The ICJ said Israel was obliged to facilitate the passage of aid to Gaza, stressing that it had to provide Palestinians with the “basic needs” essential for survival.
The ICJ’s sweeping ruling came as aid groups scramble to increase much-needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, taking advantage of a fragile ceasefire agreed to earlier this month.
The ICJ’s “Advisory Opinion” is not legally binding, but the court believes it carries “great legal weight and moral authority.”
Israel was not involved in the process, but an official told reporters before the hearing that it was “an abuse of international law.”
The official added that Israel “cooperates with international organizations and other UN agencies regarding Gaza. But Israel will not cooperate with UNRWA.”
ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said the ICJ “rejects the argument that the request abuses and weaponizes the international judicial process.”
On the eve of the ICJ ruling, Abeer Etefa, spokesman for the UN World Food Program (WFP) for the Middle East, said that 530 trucks from the organization had crossed into Gaza since the ceasefire.
Those trucks had delivered more than 6,700 tons of food, which she said was “enough for about half a million people for two weeks.”
Etefa said around 750 tonnes per day were now arriving, which, although more than before the ceasefire, is still well below the WFP target of around 2,000 tonnes per day.
The ICJ said that Israel, as the occupying power, had an obligation to “ensure the basic needs of the local population, including supplies essential for their survival.”
At the same time, Israel “also had a negative obligation not to impede the provision of these supplies,” the court stated.
The court also recalled the obligation established by international law not to use starvation as a method of war.
‘Serious concerns’
The UN had asked the ICJ to clarify Israel’s obligations, as an occupying power, towards the UN and other bodies “including ensuring and facilitating the unimpeded supply of urgently needed supplies essential for the survival” of the Palestinians.
ICJ judges heard for a week in April evidence presented by dozens of nations and organizations, many of which revolved around the status of UNRWA.
At the ICJ hearings, a US official raised “serious concerns” about UNRWA’s impartiality and alleged that Hamas used the agency’s facilities.
The US official, Josh Simmons, said Israel had “no obligation to allow UNRWA to specifically provide humanitarian assistance.”
Simmons added that UNRWA was not the only option to bring aid to Gaza.
However, the ICJ noted that UNRWA “cannot be replaced in a short time without an adequate transition plan.”
Palestinian official Ammar Hijazi told ICJ judges during April hearings that Israel was blocking aid as a “weapon of war,” causing famine in Gaza.
Wednesday’s case was separate from others Israel faces under international law over its Gaza campaign.
In July 2024, the ICJ issued another advisory opinion stating that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories was “illegal” and should end as soon as possible.
ICJ judges are also weighing allegations, brought by South Africa, that Israel has violated the 1948 UN Genocide Convention with its actions in Gaza.
Another court in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel said was killed in an airstrike.
