ICJ: Israel Obligated to Permit and Assist Humanitarian Relief Operations

by Oui Wed Oct 22nd, 2025 at 03:52:06 PM EST

When the World's Top Court announces a decision, one should sit up and listen ... the current New Worlds Order won in the Great War under U.S. Presidents Roosevelt and Truman. Europe liberated from ugly German-Italian Fascism across the continent and the Pacific with defeat of Japanese Imperial Empire. The first two atom bombs were deemed necessary to stop the bloodshed and force the surrender of Japan.

Top UN court: Israel must ease aid into Gaza, provide 'basic needs' | Al-Monitor - one hour ago |

The International Court of Justice said Wednesday that Israel was obliged to ease the passage of aid into Gaza, stressing it had to provide Palestinians with "basic needs" essential to survival.
The wide-ranging ICJ ruling came as aid groups are scrambling to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile ceasefire agreed earlier this month.
The ICJ's "Advisory Opinion" is not legally binding but the court believes it carries "great legal weight and moral authority".
ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said Israel was "under an obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations and its entities".
That included UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel has banned after accusing some of its staff of taking part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war.
The ICJ ruled that Israel had not substantiated those allegations.
Israel did not take part in the proceedings but an official told journalists before the hearing that it was "an abuse of international law".
The official added that Israel "cooperates with international organisations, with other UN agencies regarding Gaza. But Israel will not cooperate with UNRWA".
Iwasawa said the ICJ "rejects the argument that the request abuses and weaponises the international judicial process".
On the eve of the ICJ ruling, Abeer Etefa, Middle East spokeswoman for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), said 530 of the organisation's trucks had crossed into Gaza since the ceasefire.
Those trucks had delivered more than 6,700 tonnes of food, which she said was "enough for close to half a million people for two weeks".
Etefa said around 750 tonnes a day were now coming through, which, although more than before the ceasefire, remains well below WFP's target of around 2,000 tonnes daily.
The ICJ said that Israel, as an occupying power, was under an obligation "to ensure the basic needs of the local population, including the supplies essential for their survival".
At the same time, Israel was "also under a negative obligation not to impede the provision of these supplies", the court said.
The court also recalled the obligation under international law not to use starvation as a method of warfare.

ICJ: Israel obliged to allow aid into Gaza, not use starvation as war weapon

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel is obliged under the Geneva Convention to agree to and facilitate relief schemes provided by third states and impartial humanitarian groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), to ensure that sufficient aid reaches Palestine's Gaza.

In its detailed opinion on Wednesday, the world court underscored that Israel, as the occupying power, carries an unconditional duty to ensure the local population's basic needs are met.
It found that the population of Gaza has been "inadequately" supplied within the meaning of Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and that Israel must therefore permit and assist humanitarian relief operations.
The court said Israel severely restricted the entry of aid and even blocked the delivery of humanitarian and medical supplies starting this March 2, allowing only limited amounts to resume as of May 19.
It also found no evidence of discrimination in the UNRWA's distribution of aid based on nationality, race, religion, or political opinion.
"The occupying power may never invoke reasons of security to justify the general suspension of all humanitarian activities in occupied territory," the court said, reiterating that Israel's obligation to facilitate aid is "unconditional."
It reaffirmed that the law of occupation applies alongside international humanitarian law governing hostilities, and that Israel must comply with both sets of obligations.