UN court to assess Israel’s humanitarian duties in Gaza blockade case

Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip hit by a humanitarian crisis. Photo / AFP

The International Court of Justice will hold hearings next month on Israel’s humanitarian obligations towards Palestinians, after the Israeli Government blocked aid access to Gaza earlier this month.

The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution in December requesting that the world body’s top court give an advisory opinion on the matter.

The hearings will open on April 28 at the court’s seat in The Hague, it said in a statement.

The resolution, submitted by Norway in October, was adopted by a large majority.

It calls on the ICJ to clarify what Israel is required to do to “ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population”.

Although the ICJ’s decisions are legally binding, the court has no concrete means to enforce them. But they increase the diplomatic pressure on Israel.

Last July, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion stating that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was “illegal” and must end as soon as possible.

Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip hit by a humanitarian crisis.

Israel halted aid deliveries to war-torn Gaza on March 2 after a deadlock over a fragile ceasefire, which since January 19 has reduced hostilities following 15 months of relentless fighting.

Norway’s initiative was triggered by an Israeli law banning from the end of January the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil and co-ordinating with the Israeli Government.

The Israeli authorities accuse some UNRWA employees of taking part in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by the Islamist militant group Hamas.

-Agence France-Presse