Gaza aid blockade imposed by Israel contested in International Court of Justice hearings
Israel has completely cut off all supplies to Gaza residents for nearly 2 months
UN and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, on the first day of hearings about Israel's obligations to facilitate aid deliveries.
Since March 2, Israel has completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, and food stockpiled during a ceasefire at the start of the year has all but run out.
At the opening of the hearings at the United Nations' top court, the UN's legal counsel said Israel had a clear obligation as an occupying force to allow and facilitate humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza.
"In the specific context of the current situation in the occupied Palestinian Territories, these obligations entail allowing all relevant UN entities to carry out activities for the benefit of the local population," Elinor Hammarskjold said.
Palestinian representative Ammar Hijazi said Israel was using humanitarian aid as "a weapon of war," while people in Gaza were facing starvation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel had submitted its position in writing to the hearings, which he described as a "circus."
Speaking in Jerusalem on Monday, Saar said the court was being politicized, while the UN was failing to root out employees of its Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA who are members of Gaza militant groups.
"They are abusing the court once again to try and force Israel to co-operate with an organization that is infested with Hamas terrorists," Saar said. "The goal is to deprive Israel of its most basic right to defend itself."
The UN said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, and had been fired. Another Hamas commander, confirmed by UNRWA as one of its employees, was killed in Gaza in October, according to Israel.
Israel 'destroying fundamentals of life': mission head
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, was tasked in December with forming an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by states and international groups, including the United Nations.
Israel has repeatedly said it would not allow the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages. It has accused Hamas of hijacking humanitarian aid, which the militant group denies.
"This case is about Israel destroying the fundamentals of life in Palestine, while it blocks the UN and other providers of humanitarian aid from providing life-saving aid to the population," Hijazi, the head of the Palestinian mission to the Netherlands, told the hearing.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into Gaza. Germany, France and Britain last week called to allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.
On Friday, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said that famine is no longer a looming threat and is becoming a reality, as the UN World Food Program announced it had run out of food stocks in Gaza.
Fifty-two people have died due to hunger and malnutrition, including 50 children, while more than one million children are experiencing hunger daily, it added.
"Hunger is spreading in Gaza, malnutrition is deepening in Gaza, injured people and other patients remain untreated in Gaza, and — as we have said before — people are dying," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday.
Advisory opinions of the ICJ carry legal and political weight, although they are not binding and the court has no enforcement powers.
After the hearings, the World Court will likely take several months to form its opinion.
With files from CBC News