New Delhi: Israel, which opposes the UN's relief agency for Palestinian refugees, is obligated by international law and under the prevailing circumstances to aid the organisation in carrying out its work in Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled.

There is not enough evidence to establish a lack of neutrality on part of the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA, while Israel has not substantiated its claim that many of the body's employees are members of Hamas or “other terrorist factions”, the court also said on Wednesday (October 22) in an advisory opinion.

The top UN court issued its opinion in connection with a UN General Assembly resolution requesting it to do so on the question of Israel's obligations around UN agencies' activities in and relating to Palestine.

UNRWA has welcomed the court's decision while Israel has rejected it, maintaining that it will not cooperate with the agency that it described as “infested with terror activities”.

The general assembly had passed its resolution – which India had voted in favour of along with 136 other nations out of a total of 171 – in December 2024 two months after Israel's parliament passed laws prohibiting UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory and forbidding contact between certain Israeli authorities and the agency. 

In its advisory opinion, which is not binding but carries legal weight, the ICJ noted that under Article 59 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel as an occupying power in Gaza is obligated to agree to and support relief schemes in the territory if at least part of its population is inadequately supplied.

Since Gaza's population is indeed inadequately supplied, Israel “as the occupying power is under an obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes”, ruled the court, which also noted that Tel Aviv for its part “has not ensured that the population of the Gaza Strip is adequately supplied”.

Although Israel is of the view that UNRWA does not come under the remit of Article 59 as it is not an impartial organisation, the ICJ said that the “information before it is not sufficient to establish UNRWA's lack of neutrality for the purpose of assessing its impartiality as an organisation under Article 59”.

“In addition,” it continued, “the Court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA employees “are members of Hamas … or other terrorist factions”.”

That a number of UNRWA employees were dismissed in 2024 following Israeli allegations due to their possible involvement in Hamas's October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israel “may be a strong indicator of neutrality”, the court also said.

Given that UNRWA “has been an indispensable provider of humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip”, the court considering Article 59 and the prevailing circumstances ruled that “Israel is under an obligation to agree to and facilitate relief schemes” run by the UN and its agencies including UNRWA.

Turning to Articles 55 and 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which require an occupying power to ensure the basic needs of the local population including supplies necessary for their survival, the court said that:

“… To the extent that Israel does not itself fulfil the obligations under Articles 55 and 56, leaving that responsibility to the United Nations acting through UNRWA, as well as other international organisations and third States, Israel is under the same positive and negative obligations [under the Articles] to support and not to restrict the activities of those entities.”

It also noted that Israel's “complete blocking of aid into the Gaza Strip from March 2, 2025 led to a further dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian conditions there” and that malnutrition-related deaths had increased in the territory after it began its oral hearings in April, a time during which the Tel Aviv-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began operating there.

At the opening of Wednesday's sitting, ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa said that Judge Dalveer Bhandari, who is from India and has attended the oral proceedings in the case, “could not participate in the deliberations and the vote of the Advisory Opinion”. No reason was given.

Two other member judges, Romania's Judge Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu and Jordan's Judge Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud were also not listed among the participating judges.

Judge Aurescu had recused himself during the oral proceedings stage, while Judge Hmoud joined the ICJ in May. The reason for his recusal is not known.

The latter's predecessor, Somalia's Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, had also recused himself earlier during the proceedings.

UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarine said he welcomed the ICJ's “unambiguous ruling”.

“With huge amounts of food & other life-saving supplies on standby in Egypt & Jordan, UNRWA has the resources & expertise to immediately scale up the humanitarian response in Gaza & help alleviate the suffering of the civilian population,” he was quoted as saying in a statement.

Israel said it “categorically rejects” the court's “entirely predictable” opinion.

“This is yet another political attempt to impose political measures against Israel under the guise of “International Law”,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a communique.

Accusing UNRWA employees of participating in the October 2023 terror attack as well as continuing to “assist Hamas's terrorist operations”, Israel said the UN “has never investigated the full extent” of Hamas's “infiltration” of the agency despite Tel Aviv providing it with “extensive evidence”.

“To this day, UNRWA still employs more than 1,400 Hamas operatives. Israel will not cooperate with an organisation that is infested with terror activities.

“Israel fully upholds its obligations under International Law. Israel fully rejects the politicisation of International Law, which seeks to produce political outcomes and impose measures intended to harm the State of Israel,” it added.

Following Hamas's October 7, 2023 terror attack, in which it killed around 1,200 people and took some 250 others hostage, Israel launched a brutal military offensive in the Gaza strip that has seen over 67,000 Palestinian people killed and which has prompted comparisons to genocide.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire on October 10 this year under US President Donald Trump's ‘peace proposal’ for Gaza. The truce remains in effect even as either side has blamed the other for violating its terms.

Over the course of the war Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble, reeled under a severe food crisis and a UN-backed watchdog declared in August that the province containing its capital city had slipped into conditions of famine.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.