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The UN’s top court is set to deliver an opinion on Wednesday on Israel’s legal obligations to ensure desperately needed humanitarian aid. Palestinians In Gaza And captured the West Bank.
The United Nations General Assembly asked International Court of Justice To provide an advisory opinion on Israel’s legal obligations last year after the country effectively banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the main provider of aid to Gaza, from operating in the territory.
The advisory opinion carries significant legal importance and experts say the case could have wide-ranging implications for the United Nations and its missions around the world.
Considerable Armistice
The action comes ahead of the current fragile US-brokered Gaza ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10 and aims to end the two-year war in the Palestinian territory. Although still in effect, the shaky ceasefire was tested earlier this week Israel The forces launched a wave of deadly attacks, saying Hamas The terrorists had killed two soldiers.
Under the agreement, 600 humanitarian aid trucks are to be allowed to enter daily.
The United Nations has announced plans to increase aid supplies to Gaza. On Monday, Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Haya told Egypt’s Al-Qahera News that Israel had complied with the aid delivery in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
During the hearing in April, Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi told the 15-judge panel that Israel is “starving, killing and displacing Palestinians, as well as targeting and blocking humanitarian organizations trying to save their lives.”
Israel denied violating international law, saying the proceedings were partisan and it did not attend the hearing. However, the country provided a 38-page written submission for the court to consider.
UNRWA sanctions
Israel’s sanctions on the United Nations agency in Gaza, known as UNRWA, came into effect in January.
The organization has faced increasing criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group has been deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim.
In March, Israel cut off all aid shipments for three months, causing severe food shortages in the Palestinian territories. Ultimately, Israel allowed some aid to flow in, pursuing a highly criticized plan to transfer aid distribution to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private US-backed group. Conditions continued to worsen and international food experts declared famine in parts of Gaza in August.
Israel has claimed that there is sufficient food in Gaza and has accused Hamas of hoarding supplies.
The GHF has suspended its operations after reaching the latest ceasefire.
an advisory opinion
Advisory opinions issued by the United Nations Court have been described as “non-binding” because there is no direct penalty for ignoring them. However, the treaty that covers the protections that countries must give to UN personnel says that disputes must be resolved through an advisory opinion in the ICJ and that the opinion “shall be accepted by the parties as conclusive.”
The UN General Assembly sought ICJ guidance in December 2024 on “Israel’s obligations … in relation to the United Nations presence and activities … to ensure and facilitate the uninterrupted provision of supplies essential for the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”
“We cannot let states choose where the United Nations will do its work. This advisory opinion is a very important opportunity to strengthen that,” Mike Baker, an expert in international human rights law at Trinity College Dublin, told The Associated Press ahead of the hearing in April.
The ICJ has issued other advisory opinions on Israeli policies. Two decades ago, the court ruled that Israel’s West Bank separation barrier was “contrary to international law.” Israel boycotted those proceedings, saying they were politically motivated.
In another advisory opinion last year, the court said Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for it to end and an immediate halt to settlement construction. That decision prompted moves for unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state. Israel condemned the decision, saying it failed to address the country’s security concerns.
Arrest warrant against Netanyahu
Last year, another tribunal, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Galant, accusing the pair of using “starvation as a method of war” by restricting humanitarian aid and deliberately targeting civilians. The adviser’s opinion carries significant legal importance and experts say the case could have wide-ranging implications for the United Nations and its missions around the world – allegations Israeli officials strongly deny.
The advisory opinion at the ICJ is separate from ongoing proceedings initiated by South Africa, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected South Africa’s claim and accused it of providing political patronage to Hamas.
The war in Gaza was triggered by a surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. More than 68,000 people have been killed in Israeli counterattacks in the Palestinian territory, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The ministry’s statistics are considered the most reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its toll.