The situation inside Gaza "has once again reached a breaking point," warned the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Friday, April 25. The organization has delivered its last stocks to community kitchens in the besieged enclave, which will be "out of food in the coming days," it said. Gaza has become a "mass grave of Palestinians and those who come to their aid," warned Doctors Without Borders on April 16. The aid ban is "push[ing] civilians to the brink," the UN said. Since March 2, Israel has imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid is blocked. Calls for help are growing.
On Monday, April 28, the 58th day of this new humanitarian blockade, the UN's legal affairs chief, Elinor Hammarskjöld, was scheduled to plead before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). By May 2, 40 countries and three multilateral organizations are expected in The Hague, where the court is based.
At the end of these hearings, judges are expected to provide an opinion on Israel's legal obligations – as an occupying power and UN member – toward UN agencies and third parties involved in providing humanitarian aid. They are invited to deliberate "on a priority basis and with the utmost urgency."
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