ICJ and Gaza famine

At least 31 deaths were reported due to malnutrition

The prevalent humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a glaring picture of the human capacity of replicating savages. There is no hope of this crisis ending as generations in Palestine are being wiped out and the present state of the region commits to a bleak Zionist future.

The obstruction of humanitarian aid to Gaza has alarmed international agencies and countries like South Africa which believe that the century has seen one of the most horrendous human catastrophes. In the wake of the emergency that followed with at least 31 deaths due to malnutrition, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to take immediate notice of the crisis and ensure that all sea, land and air routes for aid are open and accessible.

One can contend that this notice by ICJ should have come long ago as a forewarning outlining demarcations of the potential damages of the warfare. Although ICJ did previously order Israel to abstain from genocidal crimes, particularly those outlined in the Genocide Convention, it is still too late to issue this notice when several deaths have already been caused and more are planned and en route. This is because first, it will be long before the transport routes for aid are fully restored and functional and it is ensured that every nook and corner of the region is covered. Second, the ICJ has stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire, which means that continued bombing of hospitals and resultant collapse of healthcare will make it difficult to recover the ongoing loss of lives and health.

One of the concerns worth pondering at this juncture is whether Israel will really implement the ICJ order. The world court has maintained that previous orders issued to Israel have thus far gone unattended and unresponded to. That said, shall we ask how effective ICJ’s orders are and how promising is its commitment to humanitarian intervention given that a country has the power to override its orders?

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2024.

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