THE HAGUE: A top Palestinian official told the United Nations top court on Monday that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza as a “weapon of war.”
Kicking off a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice about Israel’s obligations to United Nations aid agencies, Ammar Hijazi told judges: “Starvation is here. Humanitarian aid is being used as a weapon of war.”
The ICJ is holding a week of hearings over Israel’s obligations to the UN, including aid agencies, in war-ravaged Gaza before delivering a non-binding “advisory opinion.”
Dozens of countries and organizations will address the 15-judge panel in a marathon set of hearings.
Israel is not participating in the hearings but its ally the United States will take part on Wednesday.
“All UN-supported bakeries in Gaza have been forced to shut their doors. Nine of every ten Palestinians have no access to safe drinking water,” said Hijazi.
“Storage facilities of the UN and other international agencies are empty.”
Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
It halted aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2, days before the collapse of a ceasefire that had significantly reduced hostilities after 15 months of war.
The UN estimates 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the two-month ceasefire ended in mid-March.
The UN has asked the ICJ to rule “with the utmost urgency” on the case but will likely take several months to reach its opinion.
Judges will consider Israel’s legal obligations toward the UN and its agencies, international organizations or third-party states to “ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population.”
Although the ICJ’s advisory opinions are not legally binding, the court believes they “carry great legal weight and moral authority.”
Israel using aid blockage as ‘weapon of war’ Palestinian official tells ICJ
https://arab.news/jzntd
Israel using aid blockage as ‘weapon of war’ Palestinian official tells ICJ
- United Nations’ highest court is opening hearings into Israel’s obligation to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians
- Some 40 countries are expected to participate in a week of hearings starting Monday
Drone attack by paramilitary group in Sudan kills 24, including 8 children, doctors’ group says
- Saturday’s attack by RSF occurred close to the city of Rahad in North Kordofan province, said the Sudan Doctors Network
- The vehicle was transporting displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area
CAIRO: A drone attack by a notorious paramilitary group hit a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, a doctors’ group said, a day after a World Food Program aid convoy was targeted.
Saturday’s attack by the Rapid Support Forces occurred close to the city of Rahad in North Kordofan province, said the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country’s ongoing war.
The vehicle was transporting displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area, the group said in a statement. Among the dead children were two infants.
Several others were wounded and taken for treatment in Rahad, which suffers severe medical supplies shortages, like many areas in the Kordofan region, the statement said.
The doctors’ group urged the international community and rights organizations to “take immediate action to protect civilians and hold the RSF leadership directly accountable for these violations.”
There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war against the Sudanese military for control of the country for about three years.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country, leaving tens of thousands dead and millions displaced.
