Gaza / Allegations that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid more than before

THE Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel on Monday of continuing to cut humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip despite a request by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to make every effort to prevent genocide in the besieged territory.

Amnesty International said that the Israeli authorities did not “take the minimum steps necessary to comply” with the decision of the International Court of Justice issued in January.

According to Amnesty and Human Rights Watch (HRW), the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza has dropped by about a third since the court’s ruling, issued as part of the appeal brought by South Africa, which accuses Israel of violating the United Nations Genocide Convention.

“The Israeli government is letting the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza starve to death, putting them at even greater risk than before the court’s binding ruling,” Omar Shakir, HRW’s Israel and Palestinian Territories director, said Monday.

“The Israeli government he simply defied the Court’s decision and in some ways further intensified its repression, mainly by further blocking vital aid,” Shakir added, according to the statement. The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) also said there was a “50% reduction” in humanitarian aid entering Gaza in February compared to January.

“Aid should be increased, not decreased to meet the enormous needs of the two million Palestinians living in desperate conditions,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on social media platform X.

The accusations of NGOs and UNRWA are made as Israel prepares for the expected ground invasion of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, which would “be the scapegoat” for humanitarian aid programs in the Palestinian territory, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.