By Kerul Dyer
The International Court of Justice issued several rulings earlier today that the case brought by South Africa alleging genocide Gaza merits a full case be heard by the court. It also lays out provisions for Israel to follow, including providing basic services and immediate humanitarian assistance to residents of Gaza.
“Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” said the ICJ’s chief judge, Joan Donoghue.
Other orders in the preliminary ruling included requiring the country to ensure that it does not commit violations to the genocide convention in Gaza, immediately end the use of genocidal language by Israeli officials, punish those who incite genocide, and submit a report to the ICJ in one month describing Israel’s implementation progress.
The ruling did not issue a ceasefire order and specifically acknowledged that the Hamas attacks on October 7 warranted a military response from Israel. In lieu of calling for an end to the siege, the court instructed that Israel “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide convention.”
In the midst of the IJC’s ruling, the US has halted funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, after Israel alleged that seven employees had participated in the Hamas attacks on October 7. In response, the UN agency immediately launched a full investigation into the allegations and terminated the staff members involved.
These developments come as at least 25,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 100 days. This figure includes at least 10,000 children and more than 8,000 missing, and according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health the collapse of the medical system has impeded regular casualty reports since November 10, 2022.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and other International organizations, as of January 21, approximately 83 percent of the 2.7 million people who live in Gaza are internally displaced, with 1.7 million people living in refugee camps. And, while approximately 67,000 people have suffered injuries and are in need of medical attention, a lack of fuel and damage to Gaza’s hospitals have forced full closures of nearly half of all medical facilities. With scant medical supplies, limited providers and unsanitary conditions Human Rights Watch, WHO and the United Nations paint a dire situation for injured, pregnant, or people with medical conditions.
Whether Israel will voluntarily concede to the orders of the court and whether the US will continue to back Israel indefinitely with billions more in Military Aid remains a question.
