ICJ Initiates Hearings on Israel’s Humanitarian Obligations to Palestinians
Israel's Gaza aid blockade contested in World Court hearings
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday commenced a week-long series of public hearings in The Hague to examine Israel’s legal obligations to ensure and facilitate humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians, particularly in Gaza, amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis.
The hearings, scheduled from April 28 to May 2, 2025, involve oral submissions from 40 states and four international organizations, including major global actors such as the United States, China, France, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
The United Nations and Palestinian representatives opened the proceedings, with the Palestinian envoy accusing Israel of using starvation and aid obstruction as weapons of war and of breaching international law by targeting civilians and humanitarian workers.
Israel has chosen not to attend the hearings in person, submitting only written statements and denouncing the process as politicized and biased.
The hearings were convened following a request by the United Nations General Assembly, which sought an advisory opinion from the ICJ on Israel’s responsibilities as an occupying power, especially after Israel blocked the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in its territory.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached a critical point, with the World Food Programme reporting that its food stocks have been exhausted, leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians without a primary source of sustenance.
Since March 2, 2025, Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine, and other essential supplies into Gaza and intensified its military campaign, citing the need to pressure Hamas to release hostages.
Key Legal and Humanitarian Issues
The ICJ is tasked with assessing whether Israel has unlawfully impeded humanitarian assistance and violated the immunities and privileges of UN agencies, particularly UNRWA, in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UN legal team emphasized that, as an occupying power, Israel is obligated under international law to ensure the safety of civilians, facilitate humanitarian aid, and protect UN and humanitarian personnel.
Palestine’s Representative Presents Argument
The Palestinian delegation presented evidence of the immediate and long-term impacts of Israeli policies, including allegations of forced displacement, use of starvation as a weapon, and violations of the right to self-determination.
Ammar Hijazi, who is Palestine’s ambassador to the Netherlands, has just concluded his oral argument, reported Al Jazeera.
Here are some of his main points:
- Israel has not allowed food, water, medicine, medical supplies, or fuel into Gaza for over two months, with the Israeli Supreme Court supporting this policy by rejecting multiple petitions for aid, leading to a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, including deaths by starvation.
- The UN secretary-general has described Gaza as a “killing field”.
- There is no doubt about the court’s jurisdiction to hear this case; the legal questions are valid under international law, and the issue of Palestine is central to the UN’s mandate, as reaffirmed in previous advisory opinions.
- The State of Palestine will present evidence showing how Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) aim at permanent annexation and ethnic cleansing, and violate Palestinians’ fundamental rights and existence.
Israel has ignored previous advisory opinions by the ICJ on related matters, and experts anticipate that any new ruling may face similar resistance
