Israeli military continues to shell Gaza amid ICJ hearings
Despite the ongoing hearings at the ICJ, the Israeli military is continuing to shell parts of the eastern side of Gaza City, as well as Khan Younis and Rafah city.
More than 90 people have been killed and 164 injured in the past 24 hours.
Israel is ignoring ICJ order to enable aid delivery to Gaza: HRW
On January 26, the ICJ ruled Israel must urgently act to prevent genocide in Gaza, including by enabling “the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid”. One month later, Israel has “failed to comply” with this order, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“Israel continues to obstruct the provision of basic services and the entry and distribution within Gaza of fuel and lifesaving aid, acts of collective punishment that amount to war crimes,” said the rights group.
Omar Shakir, HRW’s Israel and Palestine director, added: “The Israeli government is starving Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, putting them in even more peril than before the World Court’s binding order.”
What happened in Gaza while Israel was meant to act to stop genocide
A month ago, the ICJ gave Israel a month to report back on how it was preventing acts of genocide in Gaza – but the killing hasn’t stopped. Watch our video report below to find out what has happened in Gaza since the World Court’s order in late January:
Israel fails to take steps to comply with ICJ genocide ruling: Amnesty
One month after the ICJ ordered “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the risk of genocide by ensuring sufficient humanitarian aid and basic services, Israel has failed to take even the bare minimum steps to comply, Amnesty International says.
“Not only has Israel created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, but it is also displaying a callous indifference to the fate of Gaza’s population by creating conditions which the ICJ has said places them at imminent risk of genocide,” said Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa director at the human rights group.
“Time and time again, Israel has failed to take the bare minimum steps humanitarians have desperately pleaded for that are clearly within its power to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” she added.
Gaza authorities detail Israeli abuses since ICJ ruling
Gaza’s Government Media Office says Israel has committed rampant attacks on Palestinian civilians since the top United Nations court ordered the country to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza. According to the office, in the 30 days since the ICJ ruling, Israel has
- killed at least 3,535 Palestinians, including 1,720 children and 12 journalists
- injured 4,246 people
- destroyed 17 civil government institutions
- damaged 11 schools and universities
- put one hospital out of service
- destroyed two ambulances
Timeline: Attacks on aid convoys and aid seekers in Gaza
Israeli forces have once again opened fire on people waiting for aid in Gaza City. The injured are now being treated at al-Shifa Hospital. Here is list of some of the previous Israeli attacks on aid seekers and convoys:
- February 19: Israeli forces open fire at crowds looking to receive aid in Gaza City. The attack sent people fleeing and killed at least one person.
- February 5: A convoy of trucks en route to deliver food to northern Gaza was attacked by Israeli forces.
- January 25: An Israeli attack killed at least 20 people waiting for humanitarian assistance in Gaza City.
- December 29: Israeli soldiers fired on an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated as safe by the Israeli army.
- November 7: An International Committee of the Red Cross aid convoy came under fire in Gaza City although the group did not assign responsibility for the attack.
Palestinians have consistently come under Israeli fire while waiting for aid
Palestinians have reported coming under attack by Israeli forces as they search for food assistance in Gaza, where millions of Palestinians are experiencing extreme food insecurity as Israel cuts off access to aid especially in the north of the Gaza Strip.
“Over the last few days there have been reports of ongoing shooting of people waiting for humanitarian supplies,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah in southern Gaza. “For the third day in a row, Palestinians have been reported killed and injured after being exposed to Israeli fire as they are trying to search for something to survive in the northern district.”
PRCS suspends coordination for Gaza medical missions for 48 hours
The PRCS has halted all coordination of medical missions in the Gaza Strip for 48 hours, citing its inability to guarantee the safety of rescue crews, patients and facilities due to the ongoing Israeli attacks and targeting of medical teams and hospitals.
Failure of aid delivery in Gaza ‘man-made’: UNRWA
Eighty-five percent of people in Gaza have been forced to flee after more than four months of the war, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said, adding that the majority of those displaced rely to some extent on aid provided by the agency.
“Aid struggles to enter #GazaStrip due to security constraints and temporary closures at both crossings. The crisis is a man-made disaster,” UNRWA said in a social media post.
Over 4 months of fighting have displaced 85% of #Gaza’s population, nearly all of whom depend to some degree on @UNRWA distributed assistance.
Aid struggles to enter #GazaStrip due to security constraints & temporary closures at both crossings. The crisis is a man-made disaster. pic.twitter.com/Ht0NelqLPN
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) February 26, 2024
Why can't we have this scaled up x 100
Jordan airdropping aid into Gaza
The Royal Jordanian Air Force carried out an airdrop across the Gaza Strip. It is the biggest airdrop operation so far to deliver much-needed aid to millions of Palestinians across the besieged coastal enclave. The operation deployed four C-130 planes, including one belonging to the French Air Force, Jordan army spokesperson Mustafa Hiyari has said.
The aid was dropped at 11 sites along the Gaza coast from its northern edge to the south for civilians to collect, Hiyari added. Previous airdrops that parachuted medicines and much-needed humanitarian provisions were sent to hospitals that the Jordanian army runs in Gaza.
