Israel must take steps to allow more food and water into Gaza, UN top court orders

The top United Nationscourton Thursday ordered Israel to take measures including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into Gaza to tackle crippling shortages in the war-ravaged enclave.

TheInternationalCourtof Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in the latter's military campaign launched after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks.

Israel stringently denies it is committing genocide and says its military campaign is self-defence.

Thursday's order came after South Africa sought more provisional measures, including a ceasefire, citing starvation in Gaza.

Israelurged thecourtnot to issue new orders.

In its legally binding order, thecourttold Israel to take measures "without delay" to ensure "the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance" including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

It also ordered Israel to immediately ensure that its military does not take action that could that could harm Palestinians' rights under the Genocide Convention, "including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance."

Thecourttold Israel to report back in a month on its implementation of the orders.

Israel's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on the order.

WATCH | UN relief agency describesunravelling humanitarian situation in Gaza:

Head of UN relief agency describes unravelling situation in Gaza

6 months ago

Duration 8:49

UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini tells The Nationals Adrienne Arsenault about the pressures of the unravelling humanitarian situation in Gaza and responds to allegations that some of the organizations workers were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.

In a written response earlier this month to South Africa's request for more measures, Israel said that claims by South Africa in its request were "wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represent an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of theCourtitself."

After initially sealing Gaza's borders in the early days of the war, Israel began to allow humanitarian supplies to flow in. It says it places no restrictions on the amounts of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza and accuses the UN of failing to properly organize the deliveries.

The UNandinternationalaid groups say deliveries have been impeded by Israeli military restrictions, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.

Israel has been working withinternationalpartners on a plan to soon begin deliveries of aid by sea.

Israel has repeatedly feuded with the United Nations, particularly UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees and main provider of aid in Gaza. Israel accuses the agency of tolerating and even co-operating with Hamasa charge UNRWA denies.

Thecourtsaid in its order that "Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine ... but that famine is setting in." It cited a Monday report from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that said at least 31 people, including 27 children, having already died of malnutrition and dehydration.

The worldcourtsaid that earlier orders imposed on Israel after landmark hearings in South Africa's case"do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation" in Gaza.

The Israeli military has repeatedly claimed that Israel is ready to let in unlimited amounts of aid into Gaza, but thatinternationalaid organizations are unable to distribute the aid, leading to the bottleneck. On Tuesday, the army said it had inspected 258 aid trucks, but that the UN had only distributed 116 within Gaza.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, has also run pilot programs to inspect the humanitarian aid at Israel's main checkpoints in the south and then use land crossings in central Gaza to try to bring aid to the devastatednorthern part of the Strip.

They had no immediate comment on the ICJ ruling.