• 'Israel is starving, killing, and displacing Palestinians, while also targeting and blocking humanitarian organizations trying to save their lives,' he adds

GENEVA

The Palestinian envoy to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accused Israel on Monday of deliberately targeting humanitarian organizations and carrying out a "genocidal campaign" against Palestinians in Gaza.

Ammar Hijazi, the ambassador and permanent representative of the State of Palestine to international organizations in the Netherlands, said Israeli forces had killed over 408 UN workers, including almost 300 UNRWA staff, as well as dozens of paramedics and first responders.

Hijazi's remarks came during public hearings on Israel's obligations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

"These killings are deliberate, not accidental," he asserted, citing attacks in which Israeli forces ambushed and killed humanitarian workers before burying them in mass graves.

He told the court that "the blockade (in Gaza) has progressively turned into a total siege" since October 2023, warning that Gaza’s civilian population is being starved and deprived of basic necessities.

"Israel is starving, killing, and displacing Palestinians, while also targeting and blocking humanitarian organizations trying to save their lives," he added.

He emphasized that the siege has created conditions "incompatible with sustaining life or the continued existence of Palestinians in Gaza," highlighting catastrophic shortages of food, water, medical supplies, and safe shelter.

"Israel is an unlawful occupying power standing trial for genocide. Its Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) is wanted by the ICC (International Criminal Court)," Hijazi said, calling the situation part of a broader effort to erase Palestinian existence.

Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Elinor Hammarskjold told the ICJ on behalf of the UN that Israel must comply with its obligations under international law in the occupied Palestinian territory to allow the United Nations to perform its humanitarian mandates.

Hammarskjold warned that "no humanitarian aid or commercial goods have been allowed into Gaza since the second of March, which has devastating humanitarian consequences in the Gaza Strip," noting that 295 UN personnel have died in Gaza since October 2023.

She underlined that Israel, as the occupying power, has an "overarching obligation to administer the territory for the benefit of the local population" and must "agree to and facilitate relief schemes," stressing that humanitarian and UN personnel "must be respected and protected" under international law.

She further stated that Israel’s recent legislation affecting UNRWA operations constitutes "an extension of sovereignty over or exercise sovereign powers in the occupied Palestinian territory," and that such measures "are inconsistent with Israel's obligation under international law."

Highlighting the inviolability of UN premises, Hammarskjold said: "State officials, including members of the armed forces and domestic law enforcement authorities, may not enter United Nations premises without authorization by the United Nations."

"Respect for international law by all parties remains the only option for lasting peace, as well as for the security and justice of Israelis and Palestinians," she concluded.

Civilians in 'endless death loop'

Paul Reichler, representing Palestine at the ICJ, described Gaza as "a killing field, and civilians are in an endless death loop."

Reichler warned that "the current path is a dead end, totally intolerable in the eyes of international law and history," and cautioned against the risk of "the occupied West Bank transforming into another Gaza."

"In these circumstances, there can be no doubt that Israel is violating its obligations under international humanitarian law, including obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary international law," he said.

He added: "People in Gaza are being starved to death, and we are all witnessing it, if not complicit in it. But this human tragedy is a deliberate choice. It is the consequence of a political decision. It is both avoidable and reversible."

Calling for international action, he emphasized that Israeli authorities must ensure complete and unfettered access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza, adding: "Human dignity simply cannot be held hostage to conflict."

"The inhumanity of this Israeli policy is compounded by its unlawful objective to forever extinguish the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including a sovereign and independent state in their own territory as part of the two-state solution that the international community demands," he concluded.

'Largest child amputee, orphan crisis in modern history'

Gaza is now home to "the largest cohort of child amputees in the world" and "the largest orphan crisis in modern history," Lawyer Blinne Ni Ghralaigh representing Palestine told ICJ.

Ni Ghralaigh said Israel's violations have been "unprecedented." She accused Israel of systematically attacking the UN, obstructing humanitarian work, and targeting UN officials, premises, and aid missions in breach of international law.

"Israel is failing to fulfill its charter responsibilities in good faith," she stated, emphasizing that its actions against UN agencies and staff were "unprecedented in the history of the organization."

She detailed widespread abuses, including Israel's "forcible entry into UN schools," "seizure and often violent shuttering of UN premises," and "obstruction or prohibition of the movement of Palestinian UN staff" in Gaza and the West Bank. She also cited attacks on UN food stores, humanitarian convoys, and shelters, describing these as a violation of Israel's obligations under multiple international treaties.

Violations against UN staff included "killing, injuring, and unlawfully detaining them and subjecting them to violent interrogation and ill-treatment, including severe beatings, water-boarding, deprivation of food and water and threats of extreme harm to their families," she explained.

Israel’s actions, Ni Ghralaigh stressed, also constitute "serious breaches" under the 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons.

UNRWA 'last hope' for Palestinian survival

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees represents "the last hope that the Palestinian people … have of surviving Israel's genocide," Ardi Imseis, representing Palestine, said during the ICJ hearing.

Imseis said the elimination of UNRWA was "essential to the success of Israel's dreaded plans," due to the agency’s unmatched role in providing life-saving aid and stability.

"Given the scope of capabilities in providing emergency relief, stability and resilience to the Palestinian population in ways that no other organization can operationally do, it is painfully obvious why Israel insists on eliminating the agency," he said.

He stressed that UNRWA’s operations and mandate are critical, warning that "any interruption or suspension of its work would have severe humanitarian consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees who depend on the agency's services and also implications for the region."

Imseis argued that Israel is not only bound to respect UNRWA’s work but is legally obligated to support it.

"Israel is required to facilitate and expand, not ban, disrupt or attack UNRWA operations in the occupied Palestinian territory," he said.

The ICJ is holding hearings this week to assess Israel’s legal obligations regarding the provision of humanitarian aid and the Palestinian people's right to self-determination, following a request from the UN General Assembly.

Representatives from 40 countries and four international organizations are expected to present oral submissions during the proceedings. Among the participating countries are Türkiye, Malaysia, South Africa, China, Russia, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Key organizations, including the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab League, will also contribute.

Israel, which is among the countries that submitted written statements, will not make an oral submission during the hearings.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the ICJ for its war on the Gaza Strip, which since October 2023 has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians and reduced much of Gaza to rubble.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.