The ICJ has ordered Israel to “ensure urgent humanitarian assistance” after “famine has set in”. This follows Monday’s UN Security Council Resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire.”

The world’s top court on Thursday ordered Israel to “ensure urgent humanitarian assistance” in Gaza without delay, saying “famine has set in”.

The International Court of Justice’s latest order comes as heavy street battles continued to rage in besieged Gaza — and a major medical charity said it “hasn’t seen any change” since a United Nations Security Council resolution this week demanding an immediate ceasefire.

“Israel shall… take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay… the unhindered provision… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” in Gaza, the ICJ said.

“Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, but… famine is setting in,” the Hague-based court said.

Israel’s campaign has killed at least 32,552 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

At the ICJ, South Africa has charged that Israel is perpetrating a genocide in Gaza, an accusation strongly denied by Israel.

Pretoria dragged Israel before the court, saying it was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, and urging the court to order a ceasefire.

In a ruling in mid-January that made headlines worldwide, the ICJ ordered Israel to do everything it could to prevent genocide during its Gaza offensive.

But the ICJ’s judges said Thursday that the mid-January rulings “do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation… thus justifying the modification of these measures”.

Pretoria hailed the latest ICJ decision, calling it “significant”.

Meanwhile street battles raged Thursday near a hospital in Gaza, with the humanitarian crisis and surging death toll causing tensions between Israel and top ally the United States.

– ‘Peacekeeping Force in Gaza’ –

According to a report published on Thursday by the US media outlet Politico, Biden administration officials have begun preliminary discussions about the post-war situation in Gaza with some of their partners, including Israel.

Among the issues discussed was the possibility of the US Defense Department helping to finance a “multinational force or a Palestinian peacekeeping team”.

However, none of the options envisaged would involve the presence of American troops on the ground. Instead, the fund would be used to finance the needs of a security force, alongside funds from other countries.

Jan Hennop, with AFP