World court orders Israel to provide aid ‘at scale’ citing deteriorating conditions in Gaza

In a unanimous vote, judges at the International Court of Justice ordered on Thursday that Israel shall take measures “without delay” to ensure the unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.

South Africa, which is prosecuting the case against Israel, requested that the court take additional provisional measures in light of “a change in the situation in Gaza.”

Conditions have deteriorated in Gaza since South Africa filed its complaint that Israel has breached the 1948 Genocide Convention in its ongoing onslaught against the occupied strip. Starvation has killed at least 27 children in the north, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, while about 1.1 million people face a catastrophic level of hunger, according to a March report backed by the United Nations.

Thursday’s ICJ order reaffirmed its earlier provisional measures, which stopped short of ordering a ceasefire, but imposed a legally binding obligation on Israel to take immediate measures to ensure that its military does not committ acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

In the January decision, the court also said that Israel should stop and punish public incitement to genocide, immediately facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and prevent the destruction of any evidence of genocide. 

Yet aid deliveries into Gaza have remained limited, with officials and families responsible for distributing the aid inside the strip the target of airstrikes and ground operations. In a series of similar incidents, Israel has opened fire at crowds waiting to receive aid at distribution points, killing tens at a time.

The court added on Thursday the order that Israel shall, in cooperation with the UN, provide services and aid, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza.

The order noted specifically that this should include increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and keeping them open for as long as necessary. 

Only two crossings to Gaza’s south, the Rafah crossing and the Karem Abu Salem crossing, are currently working, with deliveries limited by cumbersome checks imposed by Israeli authorities. All of the crossings to northern Gaza are closed. 

The court also ordered an additional measure with a 15-1 vote that Israel “ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza” under the genocide convention “by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance.”

After the court’s initial ruling that it was competent to litigate South Africa’s case and its initial set of provisional measures, South Africa hailed the decision as a “decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people.”

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that he rejected South Africa’s case. “The charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people should reject it,” said Netanyahu, before reiterating arguments that Israel is defending itself against Hamas. He accused the group of using Palestinians as “human shields,” adding “Our war is against Hamas terrorists, not against Palestinian civilians.”