Israel must abide by obligations, ensure humanitarian aid 'without delay,' Norway tells ICJ

Israel must comply with its international obligations and immediately allow unhindered humanitarian aid into Gaza, where the humanitarian situation has become a "living nightmare," Norway told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Thursday.

"Israel, like any other UN member state, must abide by its legal obligations," said Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, addressing the court.

"Israel has obligations under the charter to take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full collaboration with the United Nations and third states, the unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance."

Kravik said the blockade on humanitarian aid and commercial supplies, now in place for over 60 days, has only tightened despite repeated international calls for Israel to lift restrictions.

"This is both unconscionable and illegal," he said, calling for a dramatic lifting of the blockade and the expansion and sustained opening of land crossings.

Kristian Jervell, also representing Norway, said Israel must refrain from impairing the ability of the Palestinian authority and the state of Palestine to conduct foreign relations with international actors, including the UN, international organizations, and third states.

Norway, he said, expresses hope that the court's advisory opinion will support the UN's continuing responsibilities in the occupied Palestinian territory and assist efforts by the international community to realize the right to self-determination for Palestinians, based on a two-state solution.

"We meet at a time when the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory has descended further into a living nightmare," Kravik said.

Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza's crossings, blocking essential supplies from entering the enclave despite multiple reports of famine in the war-devastated territory.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

At least 52,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.