U.N. court says Israel not meeting obligations as occupying power in Gaza

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

The International Court of Justice ruled Wednesday that Israel has failed as an occupying power to adequately provide aid to Palestinian civilians, saying in an advisory opinion that Israeli authorities were obligated to cooperate with the United Nations to ensure the population, particularly in the Gaza Strip, is supplied with the essentials of daily life.

The court, which is the U.N.’s top legal body, was asked by the General Assembly last year to weigh in on Israel’s obligations both under the U.N. charter and international law, after the Knesset passed twin laws that banned the work of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees earlier this year.

The agency, also known as UNRWA, has for decades served as the main provider of aid in Gaza, where the majority of its 2.2 million people are descendants of refugees who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel in 1948. Israel has said UNRWA lacks impartiality and accused some employees of participating in the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

But in its ruling Wednesday, the court found that Israel “has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA employees ‘are members of Hamas ... or other terrorist factions.’” Many participants in the oral proceedings of the case said they believed UNRWA is the only international humanitarian organization “capable of adequately supplying the population” and the judges concluded that UNRWA’s role in Gaza was “indispensable” as Israeli authorities, waging a two-year-long military campaign, blocked or severely restricted the entry of food and other aid.

Some states in the U.N. proceedings confirmed that they had not been able to deliver any aid into the Gaza Strip during aid blockages, including a total siege that stopped all food, fuel, aid and commercial goods from entering Gaza between early March and late May.

The population in Gaza, the court said, “has been inadequately supplied” with the essentials for daily life, including food, water, clothing, bedding, shelter, fuel, medical supplies and services. It referred to findings in August by the world’s leading body on hunger that famine had taken hold in Gaza City and was projected to expand, ruling that Israel must respect the prohibition on the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and is “unconditionally” required to “agree to and facilitate relief schemes” for Palestinian civilians.