ICJ to issue legal opinion on Israel’s responsibility to allow aid for Palestinians

CAIRO – 22 October 2025: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to issue an advisory opinion on Wednesday regarding Israel’s legal obligations to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the AP reported.

The UN General Assembly requested the opinion last year after Israel passed laws aimed at banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the main aid provider in Gaza, from operating in the territory.

During April’s hearings, Palestinian envoy Ammar Hijazi accused Israel of “starving, killing, and displacing Palestinians,” while blocking humanitarian groups seeking to assist them.

At the time, Israel had halted all aid shipments to Gaza for about three months amidst an unrelenting Israeli war that displaced the majority of the population, triggering widespread food shortages before partially easing restrictions.

Amidst limited aid resumption and a controversial plan to transfer distribution to a US-backed private body in Gaza after that, conditions continued to deteriorate. By August, experts declared parts of the enclave in famine.

Meanwhile, a recent ceasefire deal now allows 600 trucks of aid to enter daily.

The ICJ has previously ruled Israeli policies in the occupied territories illegal, including the construction of the West Bank separation barrier.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of using “starvation as a method of warfare” and deliberately targeting civilians.

Wednesday’s opinion, though nonbinding, could add further international pressure amid ongoing genocide proceedings at the court initiated by South Africa.