Four Months after the First ICJ Order, the International Community Still Fails to Stop Israel’s 233 Day-Long Genocide on Gaza

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Date: 27 May 2024

 

On 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined the plausibility that Israel is carrying out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and ordered Israel to:

  1. prevent the commission of genocidal acts
  2. prevent and punish public incitement to genocide
  3. ensure aid and services reach Palestinians

Since the January Order, the Court has issued another two modified provisional measures based on South Africa’s two urgent requests on 6 March and 10 May respectively.

  • On 29 March, the Court’s modified provisional measures ordered Israel to ensure unhindered provision of humanitarian aid and basic needs, and to end to all violations under the Genocide Convention, noting the “exceptionally grave” developments since the January Order, in particular the spread of starvation.
  • On 24 May, the ICJ’s provisional measures ordered Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian aid, and to ensure the unimpeded access of any UN investigative body to investigate genocide.

 

The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) and Bisan Center for Research and Development have been producing a monthly brief, highlighting Israel’s key violations of the ICJ’s first provisional measures issued on 26 January 2024.

 

For last month’s brief, highlighting Israel’s violations between 26 March and 25 April, please click here. The following brief is on Israel’s ongoing violations of the ICJ orders between 26 April and 26 May.

Summary 

In the four months since the ICJ binding ruling on 26 January, Israel has continued its genocide on Gaza with intense bombardment and attacks from air, land, and sea, resulting in the killing of around 9,967 Palestinians,[1] bringing the total number of killings since 7 October 2023 to around 36,050. In less than two weeks in May, Israel has forced the displacement of 900,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The ground invasion into Rafah since 7 May is placing all life-critical sectors in Gaza on the brink of collapse. Furthermore, the delivery of aid has declined since the Court ruling in January. Concurrently, Israel has pushed the health sector out of service, turning hospitals into war zones and mass grave sites. Seven months on the genocide has left half of Gaza’s population at risk of famine, while Palestinians in the north of Gaza are already facing famine.

Ongoing Genocidal Acts – Killings and Causing Serious Bodily or Mental Harm

  • Since the ICJ’s ruling four months ago, Israel has killed around 9,967 Palestinians, and wounded 16,539 others, bringing the total number of killings since 7 October 2023 to around 36,050, including at least 14,778 children, and the injuries to 81,026.
  • Two days after the ICJ ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, Israel conducted a horrendous massacre in Rafah. On the evening of 26 May, Israeli warplanes bombed an UNRWA shelter housing displaced Palestinians in a designated “safe zone” northwest of Rafah, killing 45 Palestinians, and injuring 145 others. Horrific footage shows the burning of tents, burned bodies, and a beheaded child. In a press conference held shortly after the massacre, the Palestinian Media Office reported that Israel had bombed 10 UNRWA shelter sites within the last 24 hours in Rafah, Jabalia, Nuseirat, and Gaza City. These shelters housed tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians. The media office continued that the Israeli army had identified these areas as “safe”, ordered Palestinians to move there, and then committed massacres against them, killing at least 190 others in the last 24 hours, including those killed in the most recent horrendous massacre in Rafah.
  • On 14 May, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) said it is unable to reach more than 10,000 Palestinians under rubble in Gaza due to lack of essential equipment, vehicles, and fuel, adding that it would take six years to recover the bodies with the existing reliance on primitive tools. The PCD added that with summer, the accumulation of decomposing bodies under the rubble has started to cause the spread of diseases, exacerbating the health and environmental catastrophe. Israel’s destruction over the past seven months has left at least 37 million tonnes of rubble across Gaza, with an expected period of 14 years to clear Gaza’s unexploded ordnance and make Gaza safe again. UN agencies noted that explosive remnants of war and unexploded ordnance present significant risks of injury or death especially in contexts of displacement.
  • On 8 May, the Government Media Office announced the discovery of a third mass grave inside Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, with 49 bodies recovered. This brings the number of mass graves found within Gaza’s hospitals to seven: three at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, three at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, and one at Kamal Adwan Hospital in North Gaza. Altogether, these mass graves had 520 bodies. The UN Secretary-General expressed alarm at mass graves in Gaza, urging immediate access for independent investigators with forensic expertise “to establish the precise circumstances under which hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives and were buried, or reburied.”
  • More documentations are highlighting Israel’s torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners. A CNN investigation on 11 May revealed how Palestinian detainees from Gaza in ‘Sde Teiman detention center’ around 30 kilometers from the Gaza frontier, are being blindfolded, beaten, and forced into stress positions. Injured detainees are further strapped to beds, and held in diapers. Due to constant handcuffing and subsequent injuries, prisoners had their limbs amputated by unqualified medics in the detention center. In a testimony collected during the investigation, Dr. Mohammed Al-Ran, former detainee and head of the surgical unit at Gaza’s Indonesian hospital, recounted: “Part of my torture was being able to see how people were being tortured…When they removed my blindfold, I could see the extent of the humiliation and abasement … I could see the extent to which they saw us not as human beings but as animals.”
  • Between 7 October 2023 and 22 May 2024, 18 Palestinian prisoners from both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip had died in Israeli custody due to systemic torture, ill-treatment and deliberate medical negligence. On 2 May 2024, the family of Adnan Al-Borsh, head of the Orthopaedic Department at Shifa Medical Complex, was informed of his death in Israeli prison. Dr. Al-Barsh had been detained and tortured by Israeli forces since December 2023, and died in prison on 14 April. His body remains withheld by the Israeli authorities.
  • On 1 May, Palestinian prisoners organizations reported that out of 10,300 Palestinian workers from Gaza who were present inside the Green Line on 7 October 2023, 1,000 remain missing, with the Israeli authorities refusing to disclose information about them.

Ongoing Genocidal Acts – Inflicting Conditions of Life to Bring about Physical Destruction

The Rafah Ground Invasion

  • Since the ICJ ruling in January, Israeli officials have been planning for a ground invasion into Rafah. Despite over three months of international rulings, and appeals, regarding the potentially catastrophic impacts of the expected offensive, Israel commenced its ground invasion of Rafah on 7 May. Prior to the ground invasion, Rahaf housed around 1.5 million Palestinians, (a sixfold increase from Rafah’s 275,000 residents before 7 October 2023), who had already faced imminent starvation, diseases, and a lack of basic human need On 6 May, UNICEF warned against the invasion stressing that 600,000 children of Rafah should not be forcibly displaced. UNICEF added that almost 8,000 infants in Gaza are acutely malnourished, 90% of children under five are affected by one or more infectious diseases, and almost all children are in need of mental health and psychosocial support. Similarly, on 6 May, UN Women warned that a ground invasion would increase “death and despair for Rafah’s 700,000 women and girls”. In particular, UN Women stressed that 60% of pregnant women they interviewed in Rafah in April had faced complications, including 95% reporting urinary tract infections, 80% anemia and 30% preterm labor.
  • On 6 May 2024, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders against Palestinians in eastern Rafah, who were forced to “temporarily move” to the so-called “expanded humanitarian zone”. Evidence has shown that nowhere is safe in Gaza. Israel has not even left time for Palestinians to leave, as the Israeli war cabinet decided to proceed with the ground invasion of Rafah hours after the evacuation order.
  • On 7 May, the Israeli military began a ground invasion in Rafah and closed the Rafah crossing. On 9 May, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs stated: “The closure of the crossings means no fuel. It means no trucks, no generators, no water, no electricity and no movement of people or goods. It means no aid…Civilians in Gaza are being starved and killed and we are prevented from helping them.” The closure of the Rafah Crossing since 7 May has cut off the entry of life-saving aid, medical aid, and the fuel essential for sustaining all life-critical sectors in Gaza, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. Additionally, the closure has ceased all medical evacuations of severely ill and injured patients from Gaza, effectively condemning the lives of 700 patients “to death”.

Mass Forced Displacement from Rafah

  • Between 6 and 18 May, the UN recorded the forced displacement of nearly 812,000 Palestinians from Rafah. On 18 May, UNRWA noted that Palestinians forced to flee Rafah “are forced to leave behind the few belongings they have: mattresses, tents, cooking utensils and basic supplies that they cannot carry or pay to transport.  Every time, they have to start from scratch, all over again.”  Some displaced Palestinians were forced to pay NIS 2,000 in transportation fees. Displaced Palestinians from Rafah have been moving to Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, areas that are already extremely overcrowded and lack infrastructure and facilities necessary for survival. Therein, they have been living among rubble, lacking tents, clean water, food and non-food and hygiene items, healthcare, and essential services. On 16 May, Khan Younis municipalities reported that water and sanitation services in the governorate have collapsed. This has caused sewage overflow and solid waste accumulation, resulting in catastrophic health and environmental impacts. The municipalities further warned of “death from thirst” if fuel and necessary supplies are not allowed entry. On 20 May, the Health Cluster warned of a further surge in communicable diseases as a result of widespread displacement to areas that lack basic necessities.
  • Beyond the destructive ground invasion in Rafah, Israel has also continued and intensified ground invasions in Jabaliya Refugee Camp, Gaza city, and Deir al Balah, over the past month. On 18 May, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for 10 neighborhoods in North Gaza, bringing to four the number of orders issued in northern Gaza since 6 May. This has effectively forcibly displaced more than 100,000 Palestinians from northern Gaza between 6 and 18 May.

Famine

  • On 4 May 2024, the World Food Programme (WFP) stated that Northern Gaza is experiencing a “full-blown famine”, warning that it is “moving its way south”. On 15 May, the organization reported that its food and fuel stocks would be depleted within days. On 17 May, the WFP emphasized that only a significant influx of aid into Gaza can help “stop famine in its tracks.”
  • As of 24 May, 11 out of 16 bakeries are operational across the Gaza Strip. More than 3,000 metric tons of food in warehouses have become inaccessible. Meanwhile, supplies for hot meal provision might soon be exhausted. Moreover, Israel’s genocide has forced many Palestinians to leave their farms unattended, worsening the already severely restricted fresh food production.
  • On 22 May, international organizations reported that Palestinians in central Gaza are surviving on as little as 3% of the internationally-recognised minimum standard for daily water intake.

Diseases

  • Food insecurity, the severe shortage of water, the lack of sanitation facilities, as well as the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure and services have significantly increased the spread of communicable diseases across Gaza. Between 15 October 2023 and 5 May 2024, WHO reported 441,970 cases of diarrhea, 55,699 cases of skin rashes, 799,999 cases of acute respiratory infections, and 92,288 cases of scabies and lice. On 13 May, Oxfam warned about the escalating threat of deadly epidemic outbreaks in Gaza, including cholera, as new mass forced displacement exacerbate overcrowding, waste and sewage accumulation, and malnutrition.

Socio-economic Consequences

  • On 2 May, a UN assessment of the socio-econmoic consequences of the genocide in Gaza forecasted that if the war extends to eight months, there would be a setback of more than 40 years in human development in Gaza, Palestinian GDP would decline by 28% and the poverty rate would reach 60%. Commenting on the findings, ESCWA stated: “This assessment projects that Gaza will be rendered fully dependent on external assistance on a scale not seen since 1948, as it will be left without a functional economy, or any means of production, self-sustainment, employment, or capacity for trade.”

Attacks on the Health Sector

  • Between 7 October and 21 May, there were 458 attacks on health care across Gaza, resulting in the killing of 723 Palestinians and the injury of 924 others, detention and arrest of 128 health workers, while affecting 102 health facilities and 109 ambulances. As of 24 May, there are no fully functional hospitals in Gaza, with 15 out of 36 hospitals only partially functional, and 33 out of 93 primary health care facilities functional. The partially functional hospitals include facilities that cannot provide inpatient care. As of 13 May, the available bed capacity at existing hospitals has reached 439%, which is over four times their maximum capacity.
  • The ground invasion of Rafah and the closure of the Rafah Crossing has exacerbated the health catastrophe. On 10 May, the Health Cluster warned that unless fuel is immediately allowed into Gaza, hospitals across the Strip will only be able to sustain operations for less than 48 hours, risking the lives of patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU), including newborns in neonatal ICUs, trauma patients and pregnant women in need of cesarean sections. Again on 14 May, the Palestine Red Crescent Society highlighted that the continuous interruption of the entry of fuel into Gaza “threatens the complete collapse of the healthcare system, and shutdown of the remaining hospitals if fuel is not provided for power generators, ambulances, water desalination stations, and sewage networks.”
  • On 8 May, OCHA reported that all key medical facilities in Rafah could soon become inaccessible or inoperable. As a direct result of the ground invasion, the Ministry of Health was compelled to evacuate the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah on 7 May. Also on 7 May, the head of Al Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah explained how the hospital was facing a rising influx of casualties amid dire shortages of beds and medical staff. On 11 May, Médecins Sans Frontières reported that due to the new evacuation orders, it had begun referring “the remaining 22 patients at the Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital to other facilities” as it could “no longer guarantee their safety.” As of 15 May, the Indonesian Field Hospital in Rafah has been out of service.
  • In Deir al Balah, the situation for Al Aqsa Hospital is critical. On 14 May, Médecins Sans Frontières warned that “relentless fighting and bombing has led to a massive influx of patients at the Al Aqsa Hospital,” where 46 of the 117 patients who were brought to the emergency room on 10 and 11 May alone succumbed to their wounds; these “mass casualty incidents are becoming more frequent,” MSF added. On 24 May, the hospital’s electricity was largely cut off, due to the depletion of fuel to operate generators, threatening the lives of more than 1,200 wounded and sick patients, particularly those in the ICU, newborns in incubators, and patients with kidney failure.
  • Since the beginning of the genocide in October, besieging and targeting hospitals has been a systemic Israeli practice, endangering the lives of patients, medical staff, and internally displaced persons sheltering at besieged hospitals. Al Awda Hospital, the only partially functional hospital in North Gaza, has been under siege since 19 May, leaving no accessible hospital in North Gaza governorate. The Hospital’s medical personnel reported two attacks on 20 May, with “snipers aiming at the building,” and one incident of artillery shelling hitting the fifth floor. On 22 May, the Israel military raided the hospital, when 140 hospital staff, patients, and companions were inside the hospital, of whom more than 100 were forced to evacuate the hospital. On 21 May, Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza was hit four times by Israeli strikes, resulting in damage to the intensive care unit. On 23 May, WHO reported that at Kamal Adwan Hospital, all health workers and patients have been forced to evacuate and the hospital is no longer functioning.

Disrupting Humanitarian Aid

  • Less aid has gone daily into Gaza as compared to the average daily trucks entering Gaza before the ICJ Order on 26 January. Before 7 October, the average number of trucks that entered Gaza each day was around 500. For the weeks between 5-25 January, 152 trucks entered daily on average. Between 26 January and 2 May, 150 trucks entered daily on average.
  • The closure of the Rafah Crossing has exacerbated the disruption of aid. Between the start of the ground invasion in Rafah on 7 May and as of 23 May, only 906 aid trucks entered Gaza (amounting to 57 trucks on a daily average). Moreover, just over 1 million liters of fuel have entered the Gaza Strip since the ground invasion. This represents an average of 29% of the fuel allocations that would have been received under the pre-May 6 arrangements, further affecting the operation of bakeries, hospitals, water wells, and other critical infrastructure. Right after the ground invasion in Rafah, humanitarian agencies warned that fuel stocks to sustain aid operations will be depleted within days. On 8 May, OCHA reported that main food warehouses in Rafah have become inaccessible and most humanitarian agencies would run out of food stocks in one week. On 11 May, the World Food Programme suspended distributions of nutritional foods to pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under five in Rafah. On 21 May, UNRWA suspended food distributions in Rafah due to supply shortages and insecurity.
  • The denial of aid delivery to northern Gaza is particularly alarming. In April 2024, 55% of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities. Between 1 and 20 May, only 37% of humanitarian aid missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by the Israeli authorities. In one incident on 4 May, the driver of a humanitarian aid mission was arrested, stripped naked and detained at an Israeli checkpoint and the team was threatened with firearms, leading to the mission’s cancellation.
  • Over the past months, Israeli settlers have been demonstrating against the delivery of aid into Gaza, as well as attacking and blocking aid trucks from entering Gaza. Recent footage shows Israeli settlers blocking and attacking aid convoys, rampaging aid supplies, beating truck drivers and chanting: “no food should go into Gaza”. On 16 May, a mob of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian truck driver, assuming that he was delivering aid to Gaza. The settlers beat him, destroyed the cargo and danced on the truck, as Israeli forces watched. ⁣In a video, the Palestinian truck driver can be seen lying on the ground injured, as a settler can be heard shouting: “This is what happens to those who bring food to Hamas.”

No Prevention of Public Incitement to Genocide

  • No charges were pressed against any public official for public incitement to genocide.

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This brief has been prepared by the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD). For related inquiries, please reach out to us at: info@thepipd.com.

[1] According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health between 26 January and 26 May 2024.