World Court: Israel must ‘ensure emergency humanitarian aid’ in Gaza

According to the Hamas Health Ministry, 32,552 people have been killed in Israeli retaliation. (document)

The Hague, Netherlands:

The world’s top court on Thursday ordered Israel to immediately “secure emergency humanitarian assistance” in Gaza, saying “famine has begun”.

“Israel shall… take all necessary and effective measures to ensure the immediate… unimpeded provision of… urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance,” the ICJ said in Gaza.

“Palestinians in Gaza no longer face only the risk of famine, but … famine is coming,” the Hague-based court said.

The war broke out after Hamas agents attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, killing about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.

Hamas agents have also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza and 34 are presumed dead.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, Israeli retaliation has killed at least 32,552 people, mostly women and children.

South Africa has accused Israel at the International Court of Justice of committing genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies.

Pretoria took Israel to court, saying it had violated its obligations under the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide, and urged the court to order a ceasefire.

In mid-January, the International Court of Justice issued a ruling that made global headlines, ordering Israel to do everything it could to prevent genocide during the Gaza offensive.

The court also ruled that Israel must allow aid into Gaza to ease the dire humanitarian situation there.

Weeks later, South Africa requested new measures on the grounds that it had declared an invasion of Rafah, but the court refused to impose additional measures.

Undeterred, Pretoria tried again – this time urging the court to impose emergency measures to “save the Palestinian people who are already dying of starvation” in Gaza.

In its defence, Israel said South Africa had “abused the court’s process”.

But ICJ judges said Thursday that the mid-January ruling “does not fully address the consequences of the changed situation… and therefore warrants modification of the measures.”

The ICJ was established to adjudicate disputes between states, and while its decisions are legally binding, it has few means of enforcing them.

For example, the court ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, but to no avail.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)