Norway urges Israel to comply with ICJ order to ensure access to aid in Gaza

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Norway has urged Israel to comply with Thursday’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to ensure access to humanitarian aid in Gaza.

"The @CIJ_ICJ issues additional measures in South Africa's genocide case in Gaza. With famine looming, the ICJ orders Israel to 'take all necessary measures' to ensure access to humanitarian aid," Foreign Ministry wrote on X.

"Vital that Israel complies & that UNWRA can operate at full capacity," it said.

On Thursday, the ICJ urged Israel to take immediate measures to ensure the "unhindered provision" of basic services and humanitarian aid, such as food, water, fuel, and medical supplies.

The top UN court said: "Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine ... but that famine is setting in."

South Africa filed a case at the ICJ in late 2023, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention, and on March 6, it requested additional provisional measures based on the change in the situation.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, besides causing mass destruction, displacement, and conditions of famine.