Israel does not agree to the court order. The Gaza Strip is threatened by the specter of famine

In a unanimous decision, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's main judicial body, said Israel must act “without delay” to enable “the provision of… urgently needed essential services and humanitarian assistance” to the people of the Gaza Strip. This comes amid warnings that famine could hit there within weeks.

Court order regarding aid to the Gaza Strip. More than 2 million people are at risk of hunger

Israel called allegations of blocking aid “completely baseless.” In response to the court order, Israel's foreign ministry said it continued to “promote new initiatives and expand existing ones” to enable the continued flow of aid to the Gaza Strip “by land, air and sea,” working with the United Nations and others.

The ICJ ruling comes after the report of the Global Initiative for the Integrated Phase Classification of Food Security was published last week. It included a warning that a “catastrophic” situation was developing in the Gaza Strip.

According to officials, 2.2 million people in the Gaza Strip “face high levels of acute food insecurity” and famine is expected to hit the northern part of the territory before the end of May.

Last week, Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the situation was “the result of Israel's extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, the displacement of much of the population, and the destruction of key civilian infrastructure.”

This week, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli authorities' plans to confiscate lands in the West Bank.

“Poland condemns the plans of the Israeli authorities to confiscate 800 hectares of land in the occupied West Bank. This is Israel's largest land grab since the Oslo Accords. These actions are contrary not only to international law, but also to efforts to de-escalate the current situation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.