Israel defied ICJ ruling and ‘completely failed’ to improve conditions in Gaza
Aid trucks in the Kerem Shalom border crossing, January 2025
Amy Dunne reports in Middle East Eye on 28 January 2025:
Israeli authorities defied an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order that demanded sufficient life-saving food and medical supplies reach Palestinians on the brink of famine in the Gaza Strip, a group of aid organisations have said.
Oxfam, ActionAid, Islamic Relief and 32 other major aid agencies said in a report released on Tuesday that Israeli forces repeatedly blocked and restricted vital humanitarian aid from entering the besieged enclave. A staggering 89 percent of the NGOs said Israel’s actions had worsened since the ICJ’s ruling, with 93 percent agreeing that the situation for those receiving aid had deteriorated.
In January 2024, the ICJ delivered an interim ruling calling on Israel to refrain from impeding the delivery of aid into Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation there. It also ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent acts of genocide in the enclave and punish incitement to genocide, among other orders.
All of the NGOs that were surveyed said that Israeli procedures for aid entry were either ineffective, had systematically impeded the humanitarian response, or were insufficient, and 95 percent of aid agencies reported they had regularly faced delays of up to two months whilst trying to import supplies.
“As the survey shows, Israel completely failed to improve humanitarian conditions, in disregard of international law, while systematically preventing life-saving aid from getting in. It is vital to assess past failures, even amid a ceasefire,” Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead, said in a press release.
“Without accountability and a commitment to protecting humanitarian operations, we risk repeating the same cycles of impunity and neglect, leaving millions without hope of a better future.”
Report – Cost of Inaction & Impunity