Gaza faces starvation as Israel continues to block aid

Deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza dropped by 50 percent in February compared with January.

Two human rights groups have accused Israel of further limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza despite an order from the United Nations’ top court.

Exactly one month ago, The International Court of Justice in The Hague said Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in the besieged territory. Tel Aviv must also take “immediate and effective measures” for aid provision, the ICJ added.

But Israeli authorities have “failed to take even the bare minimum steps to comply” with the ICJ ruling issued on January 26, Amnesty International has claimed.

Both Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday that the number of aid trucks entering Gaza had actually decreased by roughly one-third since the ruling, which came in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.

“The Israeli government is starving” Gaza’s 2.4 million Palestinians, “putting them in even more peril than before the World Court’s binding order,” said Omar Shakir, HRW’s Israel and Palestine director. “The Israeli government has simply ignored the court’s ruling, and in some ways even intensified its repression, including further blocking lifesaving aid.”