In the Thursday ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, noting there is no substitute for land crossings.
The ICJ also ordered Israel’s military to “not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza.”
The order is a follow-up from a January ICJ ruling that Israel must take measures to prevent the killing of civilians, facilitate humanitarian aid and punish those calling for genocide.
But the ICJ noted Thursday that the situation has worsened since its January order.
“The Court observes with regret that, since then, the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further,” the justices wrote.
The ICJ order comes after South Africa urged the court to make another decision as the crisis in Gaza mounts.
The court is hearing a genocide case brought by South Africa that may take years to resolve. The orders so far are similar to preliminary injunctions.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded Thursday to U.S. concerns about his nation supporting Hamas and other American adversaries like Russia.
Ramaphosa said South Africa is “consistent” with its obligations to upholding international law, of which he says Israel has violated, though he called for peace in the region.
“We have always supported the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians to self-determination and statehood and of the state of Israel to peace and security,” he wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.
Israel contests that it has a right to defend itself against Hamas, which invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7 and killed some 1,200 people.
Another roughly 250 hostages were taken, with 100 still left alive in Gaza. The ICJ has also called for the release of all hostages.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. is still reviewing the ICJ order but stressed that generally “increasing humanitarian assistance to Gaza is something that we support.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
