The International Court of Justice open hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. AP
The ICJ is hearing from dozens of nations and organisations to draw up an advisory opinion on Israel's humanitarian obligations to Palestinians, more than 50 days into its total blockage on aid entering war-ravaged Gaza.
Beginning for the Palestinians, Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands Ammar Hijazi accused Israel of breaching international law in the occupied territories.
“Israel is starving, killing and displacing Palestinians while also targeting and blocking humanitarian organisations trying to save their lives,” he told the court.
Hijazi told judges that "all UN-supported bakeries in Gaza have been forced to shut their doors".
"Nine of every 10 Palestinians have no access to safe drinking water. Storage facilities of the UN and other international agencies are empty," added Hijazi.
"These are the facts. Starvation is here. Humanitarian aid is being used as a weapon of war," concluded the Palestinian representative.
Israel has enacted a law banning the United Nations aid agency for Palestinians (UNRWA ) from operating in Israel, after claiming that some of the agency's staff of participated in the Hamas October 7, 2023, operation.
However, independent investigations said Israel failed to provide evidence for its allegation.
Israel is not participating at the ICJ but hit back immediately, claiming again that the hearings is "part of the systematic persecution and delegitimisation".
Utmost urgency
The UN's General Assembly approved a resolution in December asking the ICJ for an advisory opinion on Israel's legal obligations "on a priority basis and with the utmost urgency".
The UN has asked judges to clarify Israel's legal duties towards the UN and its agencies, international organisations or third-party states to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".
The resolution, spearheaded by Norway, was adopted by a large majority.
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 it unilaterally ended a ceasefire brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US.
The UN estimates 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the two-month ceasefire ended in mid-March.
Israel resumed its war on March 18, killing at least 2,111 Palestinians since then.
This has triggered what the UN has described as "likely the worst" humanitarian crisis the occupied Palestinian territory has faced since the war started.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 52,243 people since October 2023, mostly children and women.
Although the ICJ's advisory opinions are not legally binding, the court believes they "carry great legal weight and moral authority".
In July, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion confirming that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories was "unlawful" and must end as soon as possible.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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