Judges at the United Nations’ top court, on Thursday (Mar 28) unanimously ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective measures to ensure that basic food supplies enter Gaza without any delays amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
‘Famine is setting in’
In their order, the judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) noted that Gazans are facing worsening conditions of life.
“The court observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine…but that famine is setting in,” said the judges.
The court has asked Israel to take “all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay…the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians throughout Gaza”.
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The recent measures were requested by South Africa as part of its ongoing case which accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
The UN top court, in its Thursday order, reaffirmed the measures first outlined in January that Israel must take action to ensure unhindered delivery of food, water, electricity, fuel, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians across Gaza.
Israel could do so “by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary,” the judges added.
The court has also ordered Israel to submit a report next month detailing how they have carried out its order.
‘No alternative’ to aid delivery by land
The ruling came after the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reiterated its call for “swift, safe and unimpeded humanitarian passage (of aid) through all crossings,” in a post on X. It added, “Time is of the essence.”
It also noted that there is “no alternative to large-scale deliveries of aid by land in Gaza.”
This comes as several countries have been air-dropping aid into Gaza and using ships to deliver it to the enclave’s Mediterranean coast.
However, the UN and other organisations working in Gaza have called these methods expensive and inefficient, asking Israel to open all land crossings in the Palestinian enclave.
(With inputs from agencies)
