Of what essence is it to feed someone and kill him the next minute?

Several warnings have been made of looming famine in Gaza. Already a number of children have lost their lives to malnutrition.

Calls for more humanitarian aid has been made with some countries even airdropping aid to the strip.

These steps, though commendable, are not doing much for the people as aid seekers continue to lose their lives either through gunshots, drowning or accidents with airdropped aid.

Reports of aid seekers being shot by Israeli soldiers point to the fact that nowhere is safe.

As such, relative calm is needed.

In a seeming response to starvation in Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to provide immediate, unhindered delivery of aid to Gaza as part of new provisional measures issued in a genocide case brought by South Africa.

The judges, who were unanimous in their decision, said Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine … “but that famine is setting in.”

Under international law, using starvation as a weapon of war is explicitly prohibited, while occupying forces are also legally obliged to ensure those in areas they control are supplied with the means of life.

While Israel has claimed it is allowing aid into Gaza, senior UN, US and other international officials, as well as NGOs, have accused the country of obstructing life-saving aid to Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

Israel says it needs to inspect every shipment to make sure no cargo can be used to the benefit of its Hamas enemies. Even trucks travelling from Egypt, which has a peace treaty with Israel, are inspected by Israeli forces.

Aid officials criticise the slow and often arbitrary inspection process, which in practice blocks aid, with trucks waiting weeks for approvals.

In its legally binding order, the court told Israel to take “all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

The ICJ also ordered Israel to immediately ensure “that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance”.

The court said Israel must submit a report on “all measures taken” to abide by its order within a month.

The International Court of Justice’s order for Israel to provide the unhindered delivery of aid is not likely to increase the amount of assistance flowing into Gaza unless a ceasefire is reached, analyst Marc Owen Jones opined.

“Just because the ICJ have put this ruling forward doesn’t necessarily mean Israel is going to comply,” he said.

“After the last ICJ provisional measures [in January], the amount of aid entering Gaza actually decreased,” he noted.

About one third of the aid that was required in Gaza before the war is currently reaching the bombarded territory.

“The only thing that will result in a spike in aid is a ceasefire. Otherwise, I’m afraid Israel’s response will just be rhetoric,” he averred.

Amnesty International said the latest ICJ order for Israel to allow the “unhindered” delivery of humanitarian aid and basic services to the people of Gaza demonstrated Israel’s failure to comply with previous orders by the World Court.

Amnesty also had a message for Israel’s international backers.

“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 said.

Israel Claims Compliance To International Law

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that it is “committed to international law,” following an order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling for it to provide unhindered delivery of aid to Gaza as part of new provisional measures issued in a genocide case brought by South Africa.

Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lior Haiat said that South Africa has “failed yet again in its cynical attempts to exploit the ICJ in order to undermine Israel’s inherent right and obligation to defend its citizens from the ongoing Hamas attacks and to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza in brutal captivity.”

He blamed “operational challenges” on the ground to delivering aid and Hamas for its “abhorrent efforts to commandeer, hoard, and steal aid” as reasons for current shortages.

“Israel will continue to promote new initiatives, and to expand existing ones, in order to enable and facilitate the flow of aid to the Gaza Strip in a continuous and extensive manner, by land, air, and sea,” Haiat said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told families of soldiers kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas that the country’s forces preparing to invade Rafah.

It remains to be seen if this time, Israel will heed the ICJ order.