International Court of Justice Slams Israel Over Restrictions On Aid To Gaza During War

Last Updated:October 22, 2025, 22:27 IST

The UN's top court urged Israel to cooperate with UNRWA for Gaza aid, rejecting claims of Hamas infiltration and stressing Israel's duty to avoid civilian starvation

The opinion was in response to a request by the UN General Assembly in December after Israel passed laws banning UNRWA from operating in the country, which in turn barred it from delivering aid to Gaza.

The International Court of Justice on Wednesday said that Israel, as an occupying power, is obligated to work with the United Nations agencies to allow humanitarian aid in Gaza. This was in response to Israel’s blockade imposed on the Palestinian enclave earlier this year.

“The occupying power may never invoke reasons of security to justify the general suspension of all humanitarian activities in occupied territory," Judge Iwasawa Yuji said. “After examining the evidence, the court finds that the local population in Gaza Strip has been inadequately supplied."

CNN quoted the court as stating that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the main UN body serving Palestinian refugees, has not violated impartiality rules and that Israel must support the agency’s relief work.

The opinion was in response to a request by the UN General Assembly in December after Israel passed laws banning UNRWA from operating in the country, which in turn barred it from delivering aid to Gaza.

Though the opinion stated by the UN top court is non-binding, it has a political implication as it will increase pressure on Israel to cooperate with the UN and other aid agencies.

Following this, Israel’s ambassador to the UN criticised the court’s opinion as “shameful". “They are blaming Israel for not cooperating with UN organs… They should be blaming themselves. Those organs became breeding grounds for terrorists," Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN.

According to CNN, Israel has accused UNRWA of having more than a thousand employees affiliated with Hamas, and of teaching hate against Israel in its schools. UNRWA has repeatedly rejected the allegations, saying there were no grounds for “a blanket description" of the whole institution as being infiltrated by Hamas.

As per an investigation by the UN, nine members of UNRWA in Gaza “may have" been involved in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.

Despite this, the UN’s top court on Wednesday emphasised that Israel has not substantiated allegations “that a significant part of UNRWA employees are members of Hamas or other terrorist factions".

“The court concludes that in the present circumstances, the United Nations, acting through UNRWA, has been an indispensable provider of humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip," the judge said.

“The court recalls Israel’s obligation not to use starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare as an occupying power," he added.

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