Top UN court to rule on Israel’s obligations to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gazans

The top United Nations court will rule today on Israel’s obligations towards agencies providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, as aid groups scramble to scale up operations following a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Judges at the International Court of Justice in The Hague have been asked for an “advisory opinion” laying out Israel’s duty to facilitate aid in Gaza.

The UN asked the ICJ to clarify Israel’s obligations toward the UN and other bodies “including to ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival” of Palestinians.

An ICJ opinion is not legally binding, but the court believes it carries “great legal weight and moral authority.”

ICJ judges heard a week of evidence in April from dozens of nations and organizations, much of which revolved around the status of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Israel last year passed a law that banned UNRWA from operating in the country, as it said the organization had employed members of Hamas who took part in the October 7, 2023, onslaught, among a series of other accusations including that the organization runs schools that incite to terrorism and perpetuates Palestinians’ refugee status by passing it by generation unlike the rest of the world’s refugees.

Israel did not take part in the ICJ hearings but Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar described them as “part of a systematic persecution and delegitimization of Israel.”