Human Rights Watch accused Israel of violating the orders of the International Court of Justice by obstructing the entry of life-saving aid and services into Gaza, and closing the Gaza Strip crossings.
The human rights organization recalled that the court had ordered twice, since the beginning of the year, to take temporary measures demanding that Israel provide basic services and humanitarian aid as part of the case brought by South Africa, which alleges Israel’s violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Last Sunday, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing, and then yesterday, Tuesday, it took control of the Rafah crossing as part of its incursion into the region, which prevented the entry of aid and the exit of people from Gaza.
According to the organization, the aid that Israel recently allowed into the Gaza Strip was “modest and completely insufficient to meet the enormous needs, according to the United Nations and non-governmental relief agencies.”
Omar Shaker, director of Israel and Palestine affairs at Rights Watch, said: “Despite the deaths of children as a result of starvation and famine in Gaza, the Israeli authorities are still preventing the necessary aid for the survival of the people of Gaza, in defiance of the International Court of Justice.”
He added that more Palestinians are at risk of death with each day that Israeli authorities deny life-saving aid.
On January 26, ICJ ordered Israel “to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
On March 28, the court also imposed additional measures, in light of “the spread of famine and starvation,” and ordered Israel to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance without obstacles.