Countries and international rights groups on Friday mounted pressure on Israel to comply with an International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to facilitate the unimpeded delivery of aid into Gaza, where famine is escalating.
Despite growing opposition, Israel persists in defying a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.
Judges at the U.N.'s highest court, currently examining South Africa's accusation of Israeli genocide, unanimously issued a legally binding ruling on Thursday.
It stipulates that Israel should "take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay ... the unhindered provision ... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance" in Gaza.
South Africa's presidency welcomed the order, considering it a provisional measure in their genocide case. "The fact that Palestinian deaths are not solely caused by bombardment and ground attacks, but also by disease and starvation, indicates a need to protect the group’s right to exist," it said in a statement.
Echoing the judges' decision, the presidency stressed that Israel's fulfillment of its responsibilities to prevent genocide would require adhering to the court's directives and ceasing military operations in Gaza.
Earlier in the week, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution urging an immediate ceasefire for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and the release of all captives taken in the Hamas-led incursion on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Belgium lauded the ICJ measure as well, saying that "Israel must stop starving civilians and children." Caroline Gennez, the minister of development cooperation and urban policy, posted on X that Israel's use of "hunger as a weapon of war" constituted a "flagrant violation of international law."
Meanwhile, rights group Amnesty International noted that the World Court's decision underscored "the continuing catastrophic deterioration" in Gaza.
It pointed out that the order came shortly after Israel blocked aid convoys from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from entering northern Gaza.
"This new ruling must serve as a critical reminder to all states of their clear duty to prevent genocide, which requires them to ensure that all of the ICJ's provisional measures are duly implemented," the rights group emphasized on X.
The group also stressed that states must do everything in their power to prevent genocide and use any capacity they have to influence Israel’s actions, as well as stop the onslaught in Gaza.
"An immediate ceasefire remains the most effective means to alleviate suffering in Gaza & ensure implementation of the ICJ measures," added the statement.
Although the ICJ did not explicitly order a cease-fire, it said several of the court’s judges indicated that the suspension of Israel’s military operations was necessary to give full effect to the ICJ’s provisional measures order.
The order was issued after South Africa filed a case at the ICJ in late 2023, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
It had asked the court to rule on interim measures, including that Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians and ensure that displaced people return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance.
South Africa on March 6 requested additional provisional measures based on the change in the situation.
The ICJ said it indicated new measures as the provisional measures included in the earlier order "do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation."
"Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, as noted in the Order of 26 January 2024, but that famine is setting in," it added.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.
More than 32,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and nearly 75,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
