From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 28, 2024
ICJ orders Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, demands report in 30 days
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
The International Court of Justice issues new provisional measures against Israel, ordering it to increase the provision of basic humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip including food, water, fuel and shelter, due to what it says are the worsening living conditions for Palestinians in the war-torn territory.
“The catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been subjected,” says the court in its decision.
“Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, as noted in the Order of 26 January 2024, but that famine is setting in,” the court says, adding that “the provisional measures indicated in the Order of 26 January 2024 do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation… thus justifying the modification of these measures.”
The ICJ reaffirms the measures ordered back in January, and further orders Israel to ensure “the unhindered provision at scale… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements,” and medical supplies, as well as “increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.”
The court also orders Israel to ensure that the military “does not commit acts” which violate the Genocide Convention “including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance,” and orders Israel to report back to the court within one month.
On January 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to comply with a series of provisional measures based on its finding that there was plausibility to an application filed by South Africa against Israel that Israel’s actions in Gaza fall under the scope of the Genocide Convention.
The Times of Israel Community.