Gaza, 24 October 2025 – Al Mezan welcomes this week's Advisory Opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which affirms that Israel has a legal obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, comprising Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The ICJ concluded that Israel has failed in its responsibility as the occupying power to ensure Gaza's population is adequately supplied with  basic necessities essential for human survival. The Court further determined that Israel must allow and facilitate UN-led and impartial humanitarian relief operations in Gaza, especially those administered by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), as well as by other international organizations and third States.

This latest Advisory Opinion builds on the ICJ's July 2024 Advisory Opinion, which addressed Israel's obligations as an occupying power in Gaza, stating its responsibility to ensure that Gaza's population is adequately supplied with goods necessary for survival. In its new ruling, the ICJ specified that Israel has an unconditional obligation to support impartial humanitarian relief programs, even during active hostilities. The ICJ found that Israel has failed to adequately supply Palestinians in Gaza with the supplies needed for their survival. This ruling comes after famine was officially declared in Gaza in August 2025, and after two years of devastation and destruction resulting from  Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Al Mezan echoes these findings, highlighting that Israel's blockade of Gaza has deprived Palestinians of food, water, shelter, fuel, medical supplies, and other essentials for daily life. Al Mezan notes that Israel's illegal blockade of Gaza has become increasingly restrictive since the start of the genocide in October 2023 as a tool to bring about the physical destruction, in whole or in part, of the Palestinian people by creating conditions unfit to support human life. As the ICJ recognized, Israel imposed a total siege of Gaza from March 2025 to May 2025, stopping the entry of all humanitarian aid, including food, water, and fuel into Gaza. This has caused catastrophic conditions in Gaza, including famine, the spread of infectious diseases, and increasingly dangerous living conditions caused by overcrowding due to persistent forcible displacement and the deterioration of sanitation services over dwindling fuel supplies. Israel's repeated attacks on facilities run by United Nations humanitarian agencies, coupled with the consequences of Israel's total siege of Gaza, have crippled the ability of agencies like UNRWA to provide life-saving services.

Critically, the ICJ noted that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been widely criticized by the UN and other international actors, as its operations have failed to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza.  The ICJ reiterated what Palestinian civil society, including Al Mezan, has been warning of since the GHF started: that it does not adequately meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza. Al Mezan has repeatedly warned that the GHF is wholly inadequate and is not a suitable replacement for established, impartial, and trusted UN-led programs such as UNRWA. Moreover, Al Mezan has warned that GHF sites were extremely dangerous, and has documented several cases of Palestinians being attacked and forcibly disappeared at or near GHF sites, by Israel forces.

Furthermore, Al Mezan has repeatedly reminded the international community of UNWRA's pivotal role in providing humanitarian and development assistance to Palestinians in Gaza. Al Mezan strongly welcomes the ICJ's recognistion of UNRWA's impartial role as a trusted UN-led humanitarian agency with decades of experience in the region. Al Mezan stresses the ICJ's conclusion that Israel has an obligation to support UNRWA and other international organizations, allowing them to continue delivering vital services to Palestinians without obstruction.

Al Mezan echoes the ICJ's final conclusions regarding Israel's obligations as the occupying power in Gaza, namely:

•    Ensure the continuous supply of essential items necessary for the survival of Palestinians in Gaza;

•    Facilitate by all necessary means relief programs run by the UN, its entities (including UNRWA), other international organizations, and third States;

•    Support and protect relief and medical personnel and facilities, and stop the deliberate starvation of Palestinians;

•    Cease all forcible transfers and deportations within the occupied Palestinian territory; and

•    Allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

Critically, Al Mezan strongly urges the international community to ensure full implementation of the ICJ's Advisory Opinion, particularly continuing and expanding financial support for UNRWA and other UN humanitarian agencies. Concrete steps must be taken to stop the genocide and end Israel's blockade and collective punishment of Gaza's population.