The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure “unhindered” aid can get into Gaza. The legally binding order was issued after a request by South Africa, which brought the genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in January. The court noted in its latest order, “Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine … but that famine is setting in.” The judges also cite U.N. data which finds “at least 31 people, including 27 children, having already died of malnutrition and dehydration.” Israel is required to submit a report to the ICJ in a month showing how it has implemented the order.
In northern Gaza, where the U.N. warns famine is “imminent,” the Kamal Adwan Hospital is seeing an increasing number of extremely underweight babies and children. This is nurse Ahmed Al-Ali.
Ahmed Al-Ali: “We received this case about an hour ago, a malnutrition case. We got used to receiving such cases daily. She is suffering as a result of a lack of nutrients she’s receiving. You can tell that her age doesn’t match her weight. She’s 2 months old, and yet she’s only two kilos and some fractions. … My shift in the intensive care does not go without three or four cases of this kind, from bad to worse, and the result is death.”
The official death toll in Gaza has now topped 32,600.