The World Court on Thursday unanimously ordered Israel, accused by South Africa of genocide in Gaza, to take all necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies to the enclave’s Palestinian population and halt spreading famine.
The new measures were requested by South Africa as part of its ongoing case that accuses Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.to demand an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The United States abstained from but did not veto, the vote.. Israel has said it is making efforts to expand access for humanitarian groups to Gaza overland, through air drops and by ship to the enclave’s Mediterranean coast.
Al Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital before the war, had been one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in north Gaza before the latest fighting. It had also been housing displaced civilians. Israel says it is targeting Hamas militants who use civilian buildings, including apartment blocks and hospitals, for cover. Hamas denies doing so.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said seven people working for the organisation arrested in a raid on Al-Amal hospital on Feb. 9 had been released after 47 days in Israeli prisons.