ICJ Orders Israel to Ensure Gaza Aid

The International Court of Justice ruled that Israel, as an occupying power, must ensure Gaza’s basic needs and supplies for survival, must not use starvation as a method of war, and must agree to and facilitate UN relief operations including UNRWA, noting it had not substantiated allegations that UNRWA staff worked for Hamas. Since the Oct. 11 ceasefire, the World Food Programme has delivered more than 6,700 tonnes of food — about 530 trucks, roughly 750 tonnes per day — enough for close to half a million people for two weeks but far short of the roughly 2,000 tonnes per day it says is needed. WFP and UN officials warned that reaching that target is nearly impossible unless all border crossings (Erez, Zikkim, Kerem Shalom and Kissufim) are opened, and said severe destruction and blocked routes are preventing large-scale convoys from reaching northern Gaza where famine was declared. The WFP has reinstated 26 of a planned 145 distribution points so far; distributions have been described as orderly and provided relief especially to vulnerable groups, but access remains uneven and concentrated in the south and centre. The ceasefire remains fragile, with mutual accusations of breaches and Palestinians reporting little real change on the ground. U.S. official J.D. Vance said disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza under a ceasefire will be very difficult and ruled out deploying U.S. troops.