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Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

ICJ begins hearing on Israel’s humanitarian obligations in Palestinian territory

The UN representatives will kick off the proceedings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, followed by a Palestinian submission.

Over the next five days, 38 countries will then address the 15-judge panel, including the US, China, France, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The League of Arab States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the African Union will also make submissions.

The hearings are being held at the request of the UN General Assembly, which voted in favour of asking the World Court to weigh in on Israel’s legal obligations last December. That resolution was put forward by Norway after Israel banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating in Israeli-controlled territory.


What other court cases Israel is facing?

The case is one of several cases against Israel. The others are:

  • South Africa’s case at the ICJ, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The proceedings are likely to take years to conclude.
  • The International Criminal Court’s case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on war crime allegations. The ICC has also issued warrants for three Hamas leaders who have since been killed.

It’s important to note that the ICJ ruled last year that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.




ICJ hearings will continue for the whole week

The background to this hearing is a UN General Assembly resolution introduced last year by Norway and a group of other countries, which asked the ICJ to give an opinion on whether Israel, as a signatory to the UN Charter, acted unlawfully in overriding the immunities afforded to the UN body.

What it comes down to is, does Israel’s treatment of UNRWA – the UN agency that looks after Palestinian refugees – adhere to its obligations, its humanitarian obligations?

At issue are two bills that passed in the Israeli Knesset last year, in October, that declared that UNRWA harboured “Hamas terrorists”, as they put it, and instructed the Israeli government to end all cooperation and contact with the organisation, including supplying visas to UNRWA international staff, which has had a huge impact on the flow of food and aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.

Now, five days of hearings will take place over the whole week, and at the end of that, we will have to wait, perhaps several more weeks, before we find out what the judges conclude from all this.

Over the five days, we will hear from representatives from numerous different countries. Now it is likely that it’s not going to be until Wednesday that we actually hear from any country that is going to be supportive of Israel. That’s when the US and that’s when Hungary are speaking.



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SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

In Gaza, the ICJ hearing is seen as a ‘strategic chance’ to pressure Israel

The systematic Israeli escalation that is still taking place in Gaza has led to severe repercussions in different aspects of life.

One of these repercussions that we have seen getting much more grave on the ground is the decision to cease cooperation with UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees) here.

UNRWA has been seen by Palestinians in Gaza as not just an aid organisation operating in the territory but a very fundamental lifeline that provides different services in multiple aspects, including education, healthcare, and emergency food services for millions….

For many Palestinians here, they see the hearings at the ICJ today as a very good opportunity and a clear strategic chance to pressure Israel to protect and ensure the legal protection of the UN agencies in Gaza.

To enable the world to better understand that UN agencies have been operating to alleviate the crisis and to challenge the actions that Israel has adopted.


Israel’s foreign minister blasts ICJ hearing on Gaza

The Israeli foreign minister says the top UN court’s hearing on humanitarian aid to Gaza was part of a “systematic persecution and delegitimisation” of his country.

In a live briefing, Gideon Saar said the court was “becoming completely politicised”. He called the proceedings being held in The Hague “shameful”.

The ICJ opened hearings into Israel’s obligation to “ensure and facilitate” urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, bringing the ongoing conflict in Gaza back into focus in The Hague. Israel has blocked the entry of aid, including food and medicines, since March 2. The UN food agency has warned of mass starvation in Gaza.


Israel won’t participate in oral proceedings at ICJ

We might not get a detailed look at what Israel’s defence is until some way down the line, because of its absence from the proceedings here in our coverage over the next five days or so.

We are not going to hear from an Israeli representative standing up in the court behind me and arguing Israel’s case. They have submitted written advice and objections, but they won’t be participating in the actual verbal proceedings here.

However, we do have some idea of what they might be saying, because in the UK last week, lawyers representing Israel said in a paper that it had a right to terminate the agreement with UNRWA and ban the agency’s activities on its sovereign territory, especially in wartime.


ICJ opinion, though non-binding, can still add to the pressure on Israel

What do we get at the end of all of this?

Well, what we will have is a non-binding advisory opinion from the ICJ that will likely be ignored by Israel, as it has done with other judgements from the ICJ, the International Criminal Court and other international legal bodies as well.

It may sound like a non-binding advisory opinion is fairly wishy-washy, but it will likely have an effect because it adds to this growing body of decisions in international courts that Israel is in contravention of various international obligations and laws, and that sets the tone.

It’s the context, the framework by which countries around the world deal with Israel, and the tide of pressure is mounting.



SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

UN representative opens proceedings at the ICJ

Elinor Hammarskjold, a Swedish lawyer and diplomat who has served as the UN’s undersecretary-general for Legal Affairs and its Legal Counsel since 2025, is currently speaking at the ICJ.

Here are some of her main points:

  • No humanitarian aid or commercial goods have been allowed into Gaza since March 2, which has had devastating humanitarian consequences. The secretary-general continues to call for humanitarian aid to reach all people in need.
  • International humanitarian law obligations apply to the conduct of Israel with regards to the occupied civilian territory, which includes respecting the decisions of the representatives of the Palestinian people to receive basic goods and services from the UN entities to fully enjoy their right to self-determination.
  • At least 295 UN personnel have died since the conflict began.
  • UN entities provide vital services and development aid in the Palestinian territories.
  • Israel must administer the territory for the benefit of the local population, facilitate relief schemes, support institutions for children’s care and education, and maintain medical and hospital services, including those established by the UN.

She went on to say that as the Knesset rules and judgements against UNRWA appear to exercise Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian territory, Israel is therefore in contravention of the various treaties.

She said the devastating Israeli air strikes on Gaza continue, and that the UN has been forced to reduce its presence in Gaza, even as the need for aid dramatically increases.


Palestine’s representative has just presented his oral argument

Ammar Hijazi, who is Palestine’s ambassador to the Netherlands, has just concluded his oral argument. Here are some of his main points:

  • Israel has not allowed food, water, medicine, medical supplies, or fuel into Gaza for over two months, with the Israeli Supreme Court supporting this policy by rejecting multiple petitions for aid, leading to a man-made humanitarian catastrophe, including deaths by starvation.
  • The UN secretary-general has described Gaza as a “killing field”.
  • There is no doubt about the court’s jurisdiction to hear this case; the legal questions are valid under international law, and the issue of Palestine is central to the UN’s mandate, as reaffirmed in previous advisory opinions.
  • The State of Palestine will present evidence showing how Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) aim at permanent annexation, ethnic cleansing, and violate Palestinians’ fundamental rights and existence.
  • Israel is an unlawful occupying power standing trial for genocide, and its PM is wanted by the ICC.
  • Israel is attempting to destroy the Palestinian people and erase Palestine, including by barring and obstructing humanitarian organisations, thus also violating its obligations under the UN Charter and other instruments of international law.


Ammar Hijazi, ambassador and permanent Palestinian representative to international organizations in the Netherlands



SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Irish lawyer representing Palestine presents her oral argument

Here are some of Blinne Ni Ghralaigh’s key points:

  • Israel’s violations of obligations under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem include forcible entry into UN schools, its seizure and often violent shuttering of UN premises and its failure to protect them from attack by Israeli civilians.
  • They also include Israel’s obstruction or prohibition of the movement of Palestinian UN staff and the access by international UN staff to the occupied Palestinian territory in Gaza, where Israel’s violations include its obstruction of UN aid supplies, goods and equipment into and throughout the territory and its attacks on UN food stores, distribution facilities and humanitarian convoys.
  • Violations also include Israel’s use of UN premises as military bases and its violent, lethal attacks on UN schools, shelters and healthcare facilities, which have been a feature of every large-scale military assault on Gaza since at least 2009.


Palestinian representatives attend a hearing at the ICJ

  • Israel’s actions are not only inhumane but genocidal, as concluded by the UN Commission of Inquiry and broadly agreed upon by the human rights community.
  • Although separate proceedings are addressing Israel’s responsibility for genocide, these proceedings concern Israel’s obligations to provide aid in a situation in which Palestinians face a real and imminent risk of genocide.
  • Despite Israel’s objections, the court has full authority to advise on Israel’s obligations under international law, particularly regarding the protection of Palestinians.
  • Given the serious risk of a violation of fundamental international norms, such as the prohibition of genocide, the court must declare that there is an obligation, especially on UN member states, to end such a situation.
  • Israel continues to block UN-mandated investigatory bodies from Gaza while destroying and burying evidence of its crimes.


UNRWA is the ‘backbone’ of relief efforts in Gaza

Ardi Imseis, a professor of international law at Queen’s University who represents Palestine at the ICJ hearing, has just presented his oral argument, focusing on UNRWA.

Here is a summary of his opening remarks:

  • The UN’s responsibility toward Palestine stems from its failed 1947 partition plan, implemented without Palestinian consent, and the 1948 Nakba, which forcibly exiled between 750,000 and 900,000 Palestinians.
  • In 1949, the UN General Assembly established UNRWA to provide relief and works programmes to Palestinian refugees, emphasising that it must operate without prejudice to their rights to return, restitution, and compensation, as outlined in Resolution 194.
  • Israel’s occupation of the rest of Palestine in 1967 caused the displacement of another 250,000–300,000 Palestinians, further increasing reliance on UNRWA’s essential services across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territory.
  • Starvation and distress have worsened, especially since October 2023, making UNRWA’s role as vital today as in 1949, with the General Assembly repeatedly affirming its mandate.
  • UNRWA’s unparalleled infrastructure, community trust, and expertise make it irreplaceable; the UN Secretary-General and other humanitarian agencies recognise the agency as the “backbone” of relief efforts in Gaza.


SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Ban on UNRWA ‘must be lifted’, agency spokesperson says

Juliette Touma, the director of communications at UNRWA, has called for Israel’s ban on the agency to be lifted immediately.

The humanitarian organisation’s international staff have been unable to deliver support to the occupied West Bank since January when the Knesset passed two laws to end UNRWA’s operations.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Touma said: “International staff of the agency can no longer get visas from Israel to work in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

“We rely on the front-line Palestinian local workers – 17,000 of them have been holding the fort and delivering services, including education, in East Jerusalem,” she added.

Touma stressed the dangers faced by UNRWA’s staff, saying: “Humanitarian workers have become a target in this war. We see this not only at UNRWA . We are seeing nearly 300 of our colleagues have been killed, many of them during the line of duty while serving their communities.”

Despite the escalating challenges, Touma said UNRWA’s local staff continue to provide essential services to Palestinian communities, even as international staff are increasingly blocked from working on the ground.


An UNRWA-run school destroyed in Israeli strikes lies in ruins in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip


UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem threatened with closure, Lazzarini says

Several UNRWA facilities, including schools in occupied East Jerusalem, are under threat of closure by Israeli authorities, the UN agency’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has warned.

“Some 800 children are likely to miss out on finishing the school year if their schools are forced closed,” he said in a post on X.

Lazzarini welcomed the ICJ hearing, saying: “UNRWA and other agencies are present in the occupied Palestinian territory to address overwhelming needs. The Agency’s services must continue unobstructed until there is a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestine refugees.”

He also criticised Israeli laws passed in January that restrict coordination with UNRWA officials, warning they “hamper the delivery of assistance to people in need”.



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SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with Israeli authorities over conscription

Clashes broke out earlier today at an enlistment centre near Tel Aviv between Haredi men – also known as ultra-Orthodox Jews – and Israeli authorities.

Pictures from the scene show ultra-Orthodox protesters blocking roads and being taken away by Israeli forces.

The conscription of the ultra-Orthodox community, traditionally exempt from mandatory service, has become a major flashpoint in Israel. The Netanyahu government has pushed controversial efforts to enlist them, following a 2024 High Court ruling in favour of ending exemptions.

The Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted the chief of staff as saying, “I take seriously the demonstrations of a group of extremists in front of the recruitment office near Tel Aviv.”

“The Israeli army appreciates the attendance of Haredi youth at the recruitment office to join the service to enhance the security of the state. The army is preparing to integrate the Haredi population into its ranks in a way that respects their privacy, and we need everyone.”



Israeli army demolishes five Palestinian homes in occupied West Bank

The Wafa news agency is reporting that five homes have been demolished in Idhna, a town west of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

The Israeli military has carried out an intensified crackdown on Palestinians in the West Bank during the Gaza war, arresting scores of people. Israel regularly demolishes Palestinian homes and other structures in occupied territory in what rights group B’Tselem says is a form of collective punishment.

More than a dozen Gaza community kitchens closed over weekend: UN

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, tells reporters that “humanitarian operations continue to be severely constrained” due to Israeli attacks and the blockade on Gaza.

“Our partners tell us that over the weekend, 16 additional community kitchens had to close,” Dujarric said.

“More kitchens are expected to close this week as they run out of supplies.” He added that Palestinians in Gaza “rely on these meals as their only consistent source of food assistance”.



SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Israeli attack on Khan Younis kills eight people

The death toll in an Israeli attack in Khan Younis has risen to at least eight people in the bombing of a house in the as-Satr al-Gharbi area.

Since dawn, Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 42 people.


Palestinian Civil Defence workers remove debris as they search for casualties

Israeli drone attack in Gaza City kills nine people, including four children

Nine Palestinians, including four children, have been killed in an Israeli drone attack at the al-Ghafari Junction in central Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.


As Israel pummels Gaza City, the capital’s main hospital runs out of pain medication

We can’t keep up with the pace of these relentless Israeli attacks across the Strip, which today are mostly concentrated on Gaza City.

Initially, seven people were reportedly killed in an attack on a busy street in northern Gaza City, but now the death toll has risen to 12 after five more people died – including four children, who, from videos on social media, appeared to be hit by shrapnel in their heads and abdominal areas and bled to death.

In a second drone attack in the heart of Gaza City, 10 people were killed and many others were injured and brought to al-Shifa Hospital.

But what’s really tragic right now is that al-Shifa, which was raided by the Israeli military and nearly destroyed, is not really a hospital any more. Only a quarter of the hospital is standing, and the parts that are standing are not necessarily functional.

The worry is that many injured people who get to the hospital are not going to survive as there is no pain medication available due to the ongoing blockade.

Israel increasingly targeting crowded areas in Gaza as situation ‘worsens by the hour'

The situation is getting worse by the hour now, and it is truly a reminder of the opening weeks of this genocidal war.

It’s not only the attacks in the past hours but also the heavy artillery fire that has been going on for quite some time in the eastern part of Gaza City along with the systematic demolition of residences in the city’s Shujayea and Zeitoun neighbourhoods.

We can clearly hear the huge, loud explosions of these home demolitions going on for almost 10 days now.

In terms of attacks today, we have heard from hospitals that Israeli attacks are now targeting crowded areas. The fact now is that more injured people will die because of the acute shortage of medical supplies.

There is a huge influx of injuries coming into hospitals, and to make matters worse, doctors say they have received cases – including from the latest attack that killed five children and other people in Gaza City – of people with such severe injuries and the burns arriving at hospitals that doctors are unused to dealing with and they are not sure how to treat them and provide medical care.

We have a crippled healthcare system that cannot provide proper medical care.



SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Brazil calls for complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza

The Brazilian foreign minister also has denounced Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the enclave as “unacceptable”.

“It is necessary to ensure the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the release of all the captives and prisoners, and the entry of humanitarian aid,” Mauro Vieira said during a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil holds the rotating presidency of the economic bloc for 2025.


‘Food and medicine have become weapons’: Qatar’s PM

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani says the situation in Gaza is “a stain on the conscience of the entire world”.

Speaking at the Global Security Forum in Doha, Mohammed said “the death of children from hunger and cold is exploited as a tool to achieve narrow political objectives”.

Meanwhile, “an entire population is besieged and denied the most basic rights to receive aid, without any accountability”.

He added that Qatar would continue – in coordination with Egypt, the US and other regional partners – to try to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and ensure humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians.



SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Muslim activists in US confront far-right Israeli minister Ben-Gvir

Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has shared a video showing activists denouncing Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

“War criminal!” one person can be heard shouting at Ben-Gvir.

“You killed my family in Gaza!” another person shouts before activists begin chanting, “Free, free Palestine!”

Ben-Gvir is a far-right politician who lives in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. He has been convicted of incitement to racism against Palestinians and has called for the Israeli military to bomb food storage sites in Gaza.



Muslim advocacy group calls for Ben-Gvir to be expelled from US

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has accused the Israeli national security minister of directing his security detail to harass a woman wearing a keffiyeh in Capitol Hill today.

As we reported earlier, a group of Palestinian rights advocates confronted Ben-Gvir in Washington, DC.

“Ben-Gvir and his security guards later crossed paths with students and members of the Maryland delegation and CAIR national staff, who called him a ‘war criminal’ while he screamed at them and attempted to push through his security guards to approach them,” CAIR said in a statement.

According to the group, Ben-Gvir and some of his aides and security guards approached a CAIR-Washington community legal advocate, Sabrene Odeh, who was wearing a keffiyeh.

“According to Odeh and a witness, CAIR-Washington communications director Katie Walker, Ben-Gvir looked at Odeh and then motioned for his security guard to take notice of her,” CAIR said.

“The guard then walked fast directly towards Odeh as if he was going to physically assault her, forcing her to step back and hit the wall. The guard then passed inches from Odeh.”



UK’s Starmer laments ‘appalling loss of life in Gaza’ in talks with Palestinian PM

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has held talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa in London.

In a statement that did not include the word “Israel”, the UK prime minister’s office said Starmer told Mustafa “that the UK does not support the resumption in hostilities [in Gaza], which are in nobody’s interests”.

“He added that the UK will continue to press for a return to the ceasefire as a first step to a lasting peace, and reiterated that the return of humanitarian aid into Gaza is critical,” the statement read.

The British government has faced calls to suspend its assistance to Israel, including weapons transfers, amid the Gaza war.

In January, the British Palestinian Committee (BPC) said the United Kingdom’s military collaboration with Israel during its Gaza offensive – as well as its support through arms provisions, logistical aid, and direct military interventions in Yemen – could constitute a breach of international law.


Empty words, the UK does support the resumption of hostilities, both with military shipments and continued reconnaissance flights from Cyprus.
The UK is fully complicit in the genocide, Starmer can go to the ICC as well.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 28 April 2025

SvennoJ on 28 April 2025

Israeli attacks on Beirut ‘render ceasefire meaningless’: NGO

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says renewed Israeli attacks on the Lebanese capital are another reminder that the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah “has not brought a lasting peace for people in Lebanon”.

Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sunday after issuing an evacuation warning, prompting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to call for France and the US to pressure the country to halt its attacks.

It was the third time Israel has attacked Beirut and its suburbs despite a ceasefire that began in November.

“The continued violations threaten the stability of the ceasefire agreed last year, and risk damaging the safety and wellbeing of civilians across the country,” Maureen Philippon, the NRC’s country director in Lebanon, said in a statement.

“International guarantors of this agreement must not allow the dark days of death, destruction, and displacement to return.”


Israeli army says it attacked 50 targets across Lebanon in past month

The military has justified the attacks by saying they were carried out in response to threats against Israel.

Rights groups have denounced Israeli attacks on Lebanon as a violation of a ceasefire agreement with Lebanese group Hezbollah that came into effect in November 2024.

On Sunday, after an Israeli attack on Beirut, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused the country of undermining stability in Lebanon and escalating tensions.

He said Israeli attacks pose “real dangers to the security” of the region.


Hezbollah chief condemns Israeli attack on Beirut, calls for int’l pressure

Naim Qassem has said that Israel’s attacks on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital yesterday lacked “any justification”. “It is a political attack aimed at changing the rules by force,” the Hezbollah leader said in a televised speech.

Qassem said that the Lebanese authorities must do more to ensure Israel abides by the terms of the ceasefire, which came into force in November.

“The state must exert pressure. The pressure it has exerted so far … amounts to nothing more than some actions and statements. This is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the Lebanese government should “take more action” and raise the issue at the UN Security Council.

Qassem also said that the US has backed Israel’s actions, including the latest strike on Beirut, and called on the Lebanese government to put pressure on Washington “and make it understand that Lebanon will not rebuild without an end to the aggression”.