On the urgent need for provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza: Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh’s presentation to the International Court of Justice

Editor’s Note: The following is the presentation given by Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh as part of the South African delegation before the International Court of Justice on January 11, 2024. In this passage, Ní Ghrálaigh argues for the court to order immediate steps, “provisional measures” in the words of the court, to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the Israeli genocide. The footnotes correspond to the citations in the original document.

RISK OF FURTHER GENOCIDAL ACTS, RISKS OF IRREPARABLE PREJUDICE AND URGENCY

Introduction and apology

Madame la présidente, Mesdames et Messieurs les juges, c’est un grand honneur pour moi que de paraître devant la Cour de nouveau. C’est également à la fois un privilège et une lourde responsabilité que de représenter l’Afrique du Sud dans cette affaire d’une si grande gravité.

Il me revient d’examiner l’urgence et le risque de préjudice irréparable aux droits
revendiqués  les deux dernières conditions auxquelles est subordonné l’exercice du pouvoir de la Cour d’indiquer des mesures conservatoires.

Je souhaiterais avant cela adresser aux Membres francophones de la Cour les excuses
sincères de l’Afrique du Sud du fait qu’elle ne présente aucune de ses soumissions en langue française. L’Afrique du Sud vous prie de n’y voir aucun manque de courtoisie de sa part.

Je vais, si vous me le permettez, poursuivre ma plaidoirie en langue anglaise.

Overview

Madam President, Members of the Court, there is an urgent need for provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the irreparable prejudice caused by Israel’s violations of the Genocide Convention.

The United Nations Secretary-General and its Chiefs describe the situation in Gaza
variously as “a crisis of humanity”¹⁹³, a “living hell”¹⁹⁴, a “blood bath”¹⁹⁵, a situation of “utter, deepening [and unmatched] horror”¹⁹⁶, where “an entire population” is “besieged and under attack, denied access to the essentials for survival”¹⁹⁷, “on a massive scale”¹⁹⁸. As the United Nations Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs stated last Friday:

“Gaza has become a place of death and despair . . . Families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet. Areas where civilians were told to relocate for their safety have come under bombardment. Medical facilities are under relentless attack. The few hospitals that are partially functional are overwhelmed with trauma cases,
critically short of all supplies, and inundated by desperate people seeking safety. A public health disaster is unfolding. Infectious diseases are spreading in overcrowded shelters as sewers spill over. Some 180 Palestinian women are giving birth daily amidst this chaos. People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded. Famine is around the corner. For children in particular, the past 12 weeks have been traumatic: No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrifying sounds of war, day in and day out. Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to
their very existence — while the world watches on.”¹⁹⁹

The Court has heard of the horrific death toll, and of the more than 7,000 Palestinian men, women and children reported missing, presumed dead or dying slow, excruciating deaths trapped under the rubble²⁰⁰. Reports of field executions²⁰¹, and torture and ill-treatment are mounting²⁰², as are images of decomposing bodies of Palestinian men, women and children, left unburied where they were killed — some being picked upon by animals²⁰³. It is becoming ever clearer that huge swathes of Gaza — entire towns, villages, refugee camps — are being wiped from the map²⁰⁴. As you have heard, but it bears repeating, according to the World Food Programme, “[f]our out of five people [in the world], in famine or a catastrophic type of hunger, are in Gaza right now”²⁰⁵. Indeed, experts warn that deaths from starvation and disease risk significantly outstripping deaths from bombings²⁰⁶.

The daily statistics stand as clear evidence of the urgency and of the irreparable prejudice: on the basis of the current figures, on average 247 Palestinians are being killed and are at risk of being killed each day²⁰⁷, many of them literally blown to pieces²⁰⁸. They include 48 mothers each day — two every hour — ²⁰⁹ and over 117 children each day²¹⁰, leading UNICEF to call Israel’s actions a “war on children”²¹¹. On current rates, which show no sign of abating, each day, over three medics²¹², two teachers²¹³, more than one United Nations employee and more than one journalist will be killed²¹⁴ — many while at work, or in what appear to be targeted attacks on their family homes or where they are sheltering²¹⁵. The risk of famine will increase each day²¹⁶. Each day, an average of 629 people will be wounded²¹⁷, some multiple times over²¹⁸ as they move from place to place, desperately seeking sanctuary. Each day, over 10 Palestinian children will have one or both legs amputated²¹⁹, many without anaesthetic²²⁰. Each day, on current rates, an average of 3,900 Palestinian homes will be damaged or destroyed²²¹. More mass graves will be dug²²². More cemeteries will be bulldozed and bombed and corpses violently exhumed, denying even the dead any dignity or peace²²³. Each day, ambulances, hospitals and medics will continue to be attacked and killed²²⁴. The first responders who have spent three months — without international assistance —trying to dig families out of the rubble with their bare hands will continue to be targeted;²²⁵ on current figures one will be killed almost every second day, sometimes in attacks launched against those attending the scene to rescue the wounded²²⁶. Each day yet more desperate people will be forced to relocate from where they are sheltering or will be bombed in places where they had been told to evacuate to²²⁷. Entire multi-generational families will be obliterated;²²⁸ and yet more Palestinian children will become “WCNSF”: “Wounded Child – No Surviving Family” — the terrible new acronym borne out of Israel’s genocidal assault on the Palestinian population in Gaza²²⁹.

There is an urgent need for provisional measures to prevent imminent, irreparable prejudice to the rights in issue in this case. There could not be a clearer or more compelling case. In the words of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, there must be “an end to the decimation of Gaza and of its people”²³⁰.

There is an urgent need for provisional measures to prevent imminent, irreparable prejudice to the rights in issue in this case. There could not be a clearer or more compelling case. In the words of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, there must be “an end to the decimation of Gaza and of its people”.

The Court’s case law

Criterion of urgency

Turning to the Court’s case law, as the Court has recently reaffirmed, “[t]he condition of urgency is met when acts susceptible of causing irreparable prejudice can ‘occur at any moment’ before the Court makes a final decision on the case”²³¹. That is precisely the situation here. Any of those matters to which I have referred can and are occurring at any moment. United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding “the immediate, safe, unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance, at scale”²³² throughout Gaza and “full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access”²³³ remain unimplemented. United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for a humanitarian ceasefire have been ignored²³⁴. The situation could not be more urgent. Since these proceedings were initiated on 29 December 2023 alone, an estimated over 1,703 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and over 3,252 injured²³⁵.

Irreparable prejudice: serious risks to human life and other fundamental rights

As to the criterion of irreparable prejudice, for decades now, the Court has repeatedly found it to be satisfied in situations where serious risks arise to human life or to other fundamental rights.

In the cases of Georgia v. Russia, and Armenia v. Azerbaijan, the Court ordered provisional measures having found a serious risk of irreparable prejudice where hundreds of thousands of people had been forced from their homes²³⁶.

In ordering provisional measures in the latter case, the Court noted the context of “the long-standing exposure of the population . . . to a situation of vulnerability” including “hindrances to the importation . . . of essential goods, causing shortages of food, medicine, and other life-saving medical supplies”²³⁷.

In Gaza, as you have heard, nearly two million people — over 85 per cent of the population— have been repeatedly forced to flee their homes and shelters — not just once or twice but some three, four or more times over²³⁸ — into shrinking slivers of land, where they continue to be bombed and killed²³⁹. This is a population that Israel had already made vulnerable through 16 years of military blockade and crippling “de-development”²⁴⁰. Today, Israel’s “hindrances” to the import of food and essential items have brought Gaza “to the brink of famine”, with adults — mothers, fathers, grandparents — regularly foregoing food for the day so that children can eat at least something²⁴¹. Medicine shortages and the lack of medical treatment, clean water and electricity, are so great that large numbers of Palestinians are dying or are at imminent risk of dying preventable deaths²⁴², cancer and other services have long shut down²⁴³, women are undergoing caesarean sections without anaesthetic²⁴⁴, in barely functioning hospitals described as scenes from a “horror movie”²⁴⁵, with many undergoing otherwise unnecessary hysterectomies in an attempt to save their lives²⁴⁶.

In the Canada and the Netherlands v. Syria torture case, the Court made clear that “individuals subject to torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment . . . are at serious risk of irreparable prejudice”²⁴⁷. Palestinians in Gaza are also at risk of such irreparable prejudice, with videos of Palestinian boys and men, rounded up and stripped and degraded, broadcast to the world²⁴⁸, alongside footage of serious bodily harm, and accounts of serious mental harm and humiliation²⁴⁹.

In Qatar v. United Arab Emirates, the Court considered provisional measures to be justified having regard to the risk of irreparable prejudice deriving from factors such as: people being forced to leave their places of residence without the possibility of return; the “psychological distress” of “temporary or potentially ongoing separation from their families” and the harm associated with students being “prevented from taking their exams”²⁵⁰. If provisional measures were justified there, how could they not be in Gaza, where countless families have been separated — with some family members evacuating under Israeli military orders and others staying behind at extreme risk to care for the wounded, infirm and the elderly; where husbands, fathers and sons are being rounded up and separated from their families, taken to unknown locations for indeterminate periods of time²⁵¹. In the Qatar case, the Court issued a provisional measures Order where harm to approximately 150 students was in issue. In Gaza, 625,000 school children have not attended school for three months²⁵², with the United Nations Security Council “[e]xpressing deep concern that the disruption of access to education has a dramatic impact on children, and that conflict has lifelong effects on their physical and mental health”²⁵³. Almost 90,000 Palestinian university students cannot attend university in Gaza²⁵⁴. Over 60 per cent of schools, almost all universities and countless bookshops and libraries²⁵⁵ have been damaged or destroyed, and hundreds of teachers and academics have been killed²⁵⁶, including deans of universities and leading Palestinian scholars²⁵⁷, obliterating the very prospects for the future education of Gaza’s children and young people²⁵⁸.

If provisional measures were justified [in Qatar v. United Arab Emirates], how could they not be in Gaza, where countless families have been separated — with some family members evacuating under Israeli military orders and others staying behind at extreme risk to care for the wounded, infirm and the elderly; where husbands, fathers and sons are being rounded up and separated from their families, taken to unknown locations for indeterminate periods of time. In the Qatar case, the Court issued a provisional measures Order where harm to approximately 150 students was in issue. In Gaza, 625,000 school children have not attended school for three months.

Provisional measures and genocide

Notably, the Court has found provisional measures to be justified in all three cases where they were previously sought in relation to violations of the Genocide Convention. It did so in Bosnia v. Serbia in 1993, finding — on the basis of evidence that was certainly no more compelling than that presently before the Court — that it was sufficient to determine that there was “a grave risk of acts of genocide being committed”²⁵⁹. The Court found provisional measures to be justified in The Gambia v. Myanmar case, on the basis of a risk of irreparable prejudice to the Rohingya, “subjected to . . . mass killings . . . as well as beatings, the destruction of villages and homes, denial of access to food, shelter and other essentials of life”²⁶⁰.

More recently, in indicating provisional measures in Ukraine v. Russian Federation, the Court considered that Russia’s military activities had “resulted in numerous civilian deaths and injuries” and “caused significant material damage, including the destruction of buildings and infrastructure”, giving rise to a risk of irreparable prejudice²⁶¹. The Court had regard to the fact that “[a]ttacks are ongoing and are creating increasingly difficult living conditions for the civilian population”, which it considered to be “extremely vulnerable”²⁶². The Court also considered the fact that “[m]any persons have no access to the most basic foodstuffs, potable water, electricity, essential medicines or heating” and that many were attempting to flee “under extremely insecure conditions”²⁶³. This is occurring in Gaza on a much more intensive scale, to a besieged, trapped, terrified population that has nowhere safe to go.

Provisional measures in situations of armed conflict

Lest the contrary be suggested, it is clear from Ukraine v. Russian Federation that the fact that the urgent risk of irreparable harm arises in a situation of armed conflict does not undermine much less preclude a request for provisional measures. That is also clear from the Court’s other Judgments.

In the case of Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda)²⁶⁴, for example, the Court ordered provisional measures based on its finding “that persons, assets and resources present on the territory of the Congo, particularly in the area of conflict, remain extremely vulnerable” and that there was “a serious risk that the rights at issue in this case . . . may suffer irreparable prejudice”²⁶⁵. Similarly, in Costa Rica v. Nicaragua, the Court indicated provisional measures in part on the basis that the presence of troops in the disputed territory gave “rise to a real and present risk of incidents liable to cause irremediable harm in the form of bodily injury or death”²⁶⁶.

In relation to the Genocide Convention in particular, the Court recalled in The Gambia v. Myanmar, that “States parties expressly confirmed their willingness to consider genocide as a crime under international law which they must prevent and punish independently of the context ‘of peace’ or ‘of war’ in which it takes place”²⁶⁷.

More recently, in the case of Guyana v. Venezuela, the Court considered that the serious risk of Venezuela “acquiring and exercising control and administration of the territory in dispute” gave rise to a risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights asserted in the case_²⁶⁸. Similar factors are in issue here, having regard to the territorial ambitions and settlement plans for Gaza being raised by members of the Israeli Government, and the relationship of those factors to the very survival of Palestinians in Gaza as such.

Israel continues to deny that it is responsible for the humanitarian crisis it has created, even as Gaza starves.

Provisional measures and mitigation of risk

Similarly, any scaling up by Israel of access of humanitarian relief to Gaza in response to these proceedings or otherwise would be no answer to South Africa’s request for provisional measures. In the case of Iran v. United States, the Court found a risk of irreparable harm from the exposure of individuals to “danger to health and life”²⁶⁹ caused by restrictions placed on “medicines and medical devices”, “foodstuffs” and other “goods required for humanitarian needs”²⁷⁰. That was notwithstanding the assurances offered by the United States for it to expedite the consideration of humanitarian issues²⁷¹; and notwithstanding the fact that essentials were in any event exempt from the United States sanctions²⁷². The Court considered that the assurances were “not adequate to address fully the humanitarian and safety concerns raised” and that “there remain[ed] a risk that measures adopted” by the United States “may entail irreparable consequences”²⁷³.

In Armenia v. Azerbaijan, unilateral undertakings to alleviate restrictions alongside the full resumption of humanitarian and commercial deliveries did not defeat a request for the indication of provisional measures²⁷⁴. The Court was clear that while contributing “towards mitigating the imminent risk of irreparable prejudice resulting from” the military operation, those developments did “not remove the risk entirely”²⁷⁵. Indeed, in Georgia v. Russian Federation, the Court made clear that it considers a “serious risk” to subsist where “the situation . . . is unstable and could rapidly change”. The Court considered that “given the ongoing tension and the absence of an overall settlement to the conflict in this region . . . populations also remain vulnerable”²⁷⁶.

Israel continues to deny that it is responsible for the humanitarian crisis it has created, even as Gaza starves²⁷⁷. The aid it has belatedly begun to allow in is wholly inadequate²⁷⁸ and does not come anywhere close to the average 500 trucks being permitted daily before October 2023²⁷⁹, even under the blockade. Any unilateral undertakings Israel might seek to give about future aid would not remove the risk of irreparable prejudice, not least considering Israel’s past and current conduct towards the Palestinian people, including the 16 years of brutal siege on Gaza²⁸⁰.

In any event, as the United Nations Secretary-General has made absolutely clear, it is “a mistake” to measure “the effectiveness of the humanitarian operation in Gaza based on the number of trucks” allowed in²⁸¹. As he stressed, “[t]he real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive” means that “the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist”²⁸². That would require “security, staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity. It requires electricity and steady communications. All of these remain absent”²⁸³. Indeed, only shortly after Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing to goods in late December 2023, it was struck in a drone attack, killing five Palestinians and leading to another temporary closure²⁸⁴. Nowhere and nobody is safe. As the United Nations Secretary-General and all its chiefs have made clear, without a halt to Israel’s military operations, crossings, aid convoys and humanitarian workers²⁸⁵ — like everyone and everything else in Gaza — remain at imminent risk of further irreparable prejudice. An unprecedented 148 United Nations staff have been killed to date²⁸⁶. Without a halt to Israel’s military activity in Gaza, there will be no end to the extreme situation facing Palestinian civilians.

Madam President, Members of the Court, if the indication of provisional measures was justified on the facts in those cases I have cited, how could it not be here, in a situation of much greater severity, where the imminent risk of irreparable harm is so much greater?

Provisional measures and Gaza

Madam President, Members of the Court, if the indication of provisional measures was justified on the facts in those cases I have cited, how could it not be here, in a situation of much greater severity, where the imminent risk of irreparable harm is so much greater? How could they not be justified in a situation that humanitarian veterans from crises spanning as far back as the killing fields of Cambodia²⁸⁷ — “people who [in the words of the United Nations Secretary-General] have seen everything”²⁸⁸ — if they say it is so utterly “unprecedented” that they are “out of words to describe” it²⁸⁹.

It would be a complete departure from the long and established line of jurisprudence that this Court has firmly established — and recently reconfirmed — for the Court not to order provisional measures in this case. The imminent risk of death, harm and destruction that Palestinians in Gaza face today, and that they risk every day during the pendency of these proceedings, on any view justifies — indeed compels — the indication of provisional measures. Some might say that the very reputation of international law — its ability and willingness to bind and to protect all peoples equally — hangs in the balance.

The international community continues to fail the Palestinian people, despite the overt dehumanizing genocidal rhetoric by Israeli governmental and military officials, matched by the Israeli army’s actions on the ground; despite the horror of the genocide against the Palestinian people being livestreamed from Gaza to our mobile phones, computers and television screens — the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate — so far vain — hope that the world might do something.

Elementary principles of morality

But the Genocide Convention is about much more than legal precedent. It is also fundamentally about the “confirm[ation] and endorse[ment of] elementary principles of morality”²⁹⁰. The Court recalled the 1946 General Assembly resolution on the crime of genocide, which made clear that:

“Genocide is a denial of the right of existence of entire human groups, as homicide is the denial of the right to live of individual human beings; such denial of the right of existence shocks the conscience of mankind, results in great losses to humanity in the form of cultural and other contributions represented by these human groups, and is contrary to moral law and to the spirit and aims of the United Nations.”²⁹¹

Notwithstanding the Genocide Convention’s recognition of the need to rid the world of the “odious scourge” of genocide, the international community has repeatedly failed. It “failed” the people of Rwanda²⁹². It had failed the Bosnian people and the Rohingya, prompting this Court to take action²⁹³. It failed again by ignoring the early warnings of the “grave risk of genocide to the Palestinian people” sounded by international experts since 19 October of last year²⁹⁴.

The international community continues to fail the Palestinian people, despite the overt dehumanizing genocidal rhetoric by Israeli governmental and military officials, matched by the Israeli army’s actions on the ground; despite the horror of the genocide against the Palestinian people being livestreamed from Gaza to our mobile phones, computers and television screens — the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate — so far vain — hope that the world might do something. Gaza represents nothing short of a “moral failure”, as described by the usually circumspect International Committee of the Red Cross²⁹⁵. As underscored by United Nations chiefs, that failure has “repercussions not just for the people of Gaza . . . but for the generations to come who will never forget these [over] 90 days of hell and of assaults on the most basic precepts of humanity”²⁹⁶. As stated by a United Nations spokesperson in Gaza last week, at the site of a hospital clearly marked with the symbol of the Red Crescent, where five Palestinians — including a five-day-old baby — had just been killed: “The world should be absolutely horrified. The world should be absolutely outraged . . . There is no safe space in Gaza and the world should be ashamed”²⁹⁷.

Conclusion

Madam President, Members of the Court, in conclusion I share with you two photographs. The first is of a whiteboard at a hospital — in northern Gaza²⁹⁸ — one of the many Palestinian hospitals targeted, besieged and bombed by Israel over the course of the past three brutal months. The whiteboard is wiped clean of no longer possible surgical cases, leaving only a hand-written message by a Médecins Sans Frontières doctor which reads: “We did what we could. Remember us.”

The second photograph is of the same whiteboard, after an Israeli strike on the hospital on 21 November that killed the author of the message, Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila, along with two of his colleagues²⁹⁹.

Just over a month later, in a powerful sermon, delivered from a church in Bethlehem on Christmas Day — the same day Israel had killed 250 Palestinians³⁰⁰, including at least 86 people, many from the same family, massacred in a single strike on Maghazi refugee camp³⁰¹ — Palestinian Pastor Munther Isaac addressed his congregation and the world. And he said:

“Gaza as we know it no longer exists. This is an annihilation. This is a genocide. We will rise. We will stand up again from the midst of destruction, as we have always done as Palestinians, although this is by far maybe the biggest blow we have received.”

But he said:

“No apologies will be accepted after the genocide . . . What has been done has been done. I want you to look at the mirror and ask, ‘where was I when Gaza was going through a genocide’.”³⁰²

South Africa is here before this Court, in the Peace Palace. It has done what it could. It is doing what it can, by initiating these proceedings, by seeking interim measures against itself as well as against Israel.

South Africa now respectfully and humbly calls on this honourable Court to do what is in its power to do, to indicate the provisional measures that are so urgently required to prevent further irreparable harm to the Palestinian people in Gaza, whose hopes — including for their very survival — are now vested in this Court.

Madame la présidente, Mesdames et Messieurs les juges, je vous remercie de voter bienveillante attention. Je vous invite à demander au professeur Lowe, KC, de prendre le podium pour décrire les mesures conservatoires revendiquées par l’Afrique du Sud de la part du peuple Palestinien.

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Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh
Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, KC, is a Barrister with Matrix Chambers and a member of the Bars of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and England and Wales. Blinne has an extensive practice across human rights, public international law, criminal law and public law. She advises and acts for individuals, States, NGOs and other national and international bodies, appearing in domestic courts at all levels, and before international courts and tribunals.

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Notes

193. United Nations, Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, Press Conference by Secretary-General António Guterres at United Nations Headquarters (6 Nov. 2023), https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm22021.doc.htm; OCHA, UN relief chief: The war in Gaza must end (5 Jan. 2024), .

194. UNRWA, Remarks of UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at the Global Refugee Forum (13 Dec. 2023), https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/statement-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-global-refugee; UN News, ‘Ten weeks of hell’ for children in Gaza: UNICEF (19 Dec. 2023), https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/12/1144927; “Gaza has become “uninhabitable”: UN Aid Chief Griffiths”, The Statesman (6 Jan. 2024), https://www.thestatesman.com/world/gaza-has-become-uninhabitable-un-aid-chief-griffiths-1503256794.html.

195. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @DrTedros, Tweet (9:49 p.m., 7 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1744098839110320633.

196. OHCHR, Opening statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at press conference ahead of Human Rights Day (6 Dec. 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/12/opening-statement-un-high-commissioner-human-rights-volker-turk; “‘Level of horror in Gaza is unmatched in our lifetime’: UN”, Press TV (27 Dec. 2023), https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/12/27/717140/Palestine-Gaza-Israel-UN-Francesca-Albanese;

197. United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, on the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, “We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” (5 Nov. 2023), https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/about-inter-agency-standing-committee/statement-principals-inter-agency-standing-committee-situation-israel-and-occupied-palestinian.

198. OHCHR, Opening statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at press conference ahead of Human Rights Day (6 Dec. 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/12/opening-statement-un-high-commissioner-human-rights-volker-turk.

199. OCHA, UN relief chief: The war in Gaza must end, Statement by Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (5 Jan. 2024), https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-war-gaza-must-end.

200. OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #83 (3 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-83.

201. “Civilians sheltering in a Gaza school killed execution style”, Al Jazeera (13 Dec. 2023), https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2023/12/13/civilians-sheltering-inside-a-gaza-school-killed-execution; OHCHR, OPT: Unlawful killings in Gaza City (20 Dec. 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-unlawful-killings-gaza-city; “A young Palestinian boy recalls how his parents were shot and killed in front of him, during a raid by Israeli soldiers on their home in #Gaza”, Al Jazeera (28 Dec. 2023), https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1ZcfeKNNWc/?igsh=MWFkNHhrYWxtNjBqeA%3D%3D; Maha Hussaini, “War on
Gaza: Survivors recount harrowing Israeli field executions”, Middle East Eye (4 Jan. 2024), https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-survivors-recount-harrowing-israeli-field-executions.

202. OHCHR, OPT: Disturbing reports from the north of Gaza of mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances of possibly thousands of Palestinians (16 Dec. 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-disturbing-reports-north-gaza-mass-detentions-ill-treatment-and-enforced-disappearances-possibly-thousands-palestinians; Yuval Abraham, “Inside Israel’s torture camp for Gaza detainees”, +972 Magazine (5 Jan. 2023), https://www.972mag.com/israel-torture-camp-gaza-detainees; Al-Haq, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights (Al Mezan), Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Urgent Call for Independent Investigation Amidst Persistent Reports of Torture, Enforced Disappearance, and Another Palestinian “Death” in Israeli Custody (2 Jan. 2024), https://www.mezan.org/en/post/46349; Human Rights Watch (HRW), Israel: Gaza Workers Held Incommunicado for Weeks Release Information on Detained Gaza Workers (3 Jan. 2024), https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/03/israel-gaza-workers-held-incommunicado-weeks.

203. Quds News Network, @QudsNen, Tweet (12:57 a.m., 7 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1743783957311770872; “Israel Gaza: ‘I walked my kids past explosions and rotting corpses’”, BBC News (21 Dec. 2023), https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67635735; Raja Abdulrahim, Samar Abu Elouf, Yousef Masoud, “As Gaza Losses Mount Under Strikes, Dignified Burials Are Another Casualty”, The New York Times (6 Jan. 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/world/middleeast/gaza-israel-burials-deaths.html; “[Civil Defense in Gaza: Dozens of decomposing bodies were recovered from the streets of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip] اﻟﺪﻓﺎع اﻟﻤﺪﻧﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺰة: اﻧﺘﺸﺎل
اﻟﻘﻄﺎع ﺷﻤﺎﻟﻲ ﻻھﯿﺎ ﺑﯿﺖ ﺷﻮارع ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﻠﻠﺔ اﻟﺠﺜﺚ ﻋﺸﺮات”, Al Jazeera (23 Dec. 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_ZbRGHZoRU.

204. United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), UNOSAT Gaza Strip Comprehensive Damage Assessment –26 November 2023 (12 Dec. 2023), https://unosat.org/products/3769; Dominic Bailey, Erwan Rivault, Daniele Palumbo, “Nearly 100,000 Gaza buildings may be damaged, satellite images show”, BBC News (1 Dec. 2023), https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67565872; Netta Ahituv, “Amid Israeli Destruction in Gaza, a New Crime Against Humanity Emerges: Domicide”, Haaretz (4 Jan. 2024), https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-04/ty-article-magazine/.highlight/amid-israeli-destruction-in-gaza-a-new-crime-against-hmanity-emerges-domicide/0000018c-d585-d751-ad8d-ffa5965e0000; Palestine Online, @OnlinePalEng, Tweet (9:01 a.m., 8 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/OnlinePalEng/status/1744283176183222552.

205. Interview with Arif Husain, Chief Economist at the United Nations World Food Program, quoted in Isaac Chotiner, “Gaza is Starving”, The New Yorker (3 Jan. 2023), https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/gaza-is-starving; Save the Children, Press Release: Deaths by starvation and disease may top deaths by bombs as families squeezed into deadly “safe zones”, two months into Gaza crisis (9 Dec. 2023), https://www.savethechildren.net/news/deaths-starvation-and-disease-may-top-deaths-bombs-families-squeezed-deadly-safe-zones-two.

206. Henry Mance, “UN aid chief Martin Griffiths: ‘The war in Gaza isn’t halfway through’”, Financial Times (18 Dec. 2023), https://www.ft.com/content/01b592be-47c7-4a20-9bbd-621aa40f7640.

207. 23,210 to 9 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94. The statistics are up to date until 9 January 2024 throughout.

208. Maram Humaid, “‘Piles of body parts’: Gaza’s Maghazi residents find families ‘in pieces’” Al Jazeera (28 Dec. 2023), https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/12/28/piles-of-body-parts-gazas-maghazi-residents-find-families-in-pieces; Hiba Yazbek and Karen Zraick, “A Doctor in Gaza Describes ‘Horrific Scenes’ After Israeli Airstrikes”, The New York Times (2 Nov. 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/02/world/middleeast/voices-airstrikes-jabaliya-hospital.html.

209. United Nations, Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, Two Thirds of Gaza War Dead Are Women and Children, Briefers Say, as Security Council Debates Their Plight (22 Nov. 2023), https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15503.doc.htm.

210. 7,729 children to 11 Dec. 2023: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel–reported impact | Day 67 (12 Dec. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-67.

211. Interview with James Elder, UNICEF Spokesperson by CNN, “CNN speaks to UNICEF about dire situation in Gaza”, CNN (15 Dec. 2023), https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/12/14/exp-unicef-gaza-james-elder-live-121402pseg1-cnni-world.cnn.

212. 326 medics to 9 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94.

213. 221 teachers to 2 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #87 (8 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-87.

214. 148 UN staff and 112 journalists to 9 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel–reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94.

215. Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war (9 Jan. 2024), https://cpj.org/2024/01/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/; Human Rights Watch, Letter to President Joe Biden Re: Protecting journalists and press freedom in the Israel-Gaza war (10 Jan. 2024), https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/10/letter-president-joe-biden-re-protecting-journalists-and-press-freedom-israel-gaza; “U.N. observes minute’s silence for 101 staff killed in Gaza”, Reuters (13 Nov. 2023), https://www.reuters.com/world/un-observes-minutes-silence-101-staff-killed-gaza-2023-11-13/.

216. United Nations, The Question of Palestine, WFP Palestine Emergency Response – IPC analysis concludes that Gaza already surpassed the acute food insecurity threshold of famine – Situation Report 12 (4 Jan. 2024), https://www.un.org/unispal/document/wfp-palestine-emergency-response-situation-report-12-jan4-2024/

217. 59,167 to 9 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94.

218. Nidal Al-Mughrabi, “Bombarded twice in Gaza, 4-year-old Ahmed loses parents, then legs”, Reuters (16 Nov. 2023), https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/bombarded-twice-gaza-4-year-old-ahmed-loses-parents-then-legs-2023-11-15/; “Teenage girl patient killed in shelling of Gaza’s Nasser Hospital as Israel takes aim at health facilities”, The New Arab (18 Dec. 2023), https://www.newarab.com/news/teenage-girl-killed-shelling-gazas-nasser-hospital.

219. Save the Children, Gaza: More than 10 children a day lose a limb in three months of brutal conflict (7 Jan. 2024), https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-more-10-children-day-lose-limb-three-months-brutal-conflict; “Gaza’s child amputees face further risks without expert care”, The Business Standard (5 Jan. 2024), https://www.tbsnews.net/hamas-israel-war/gazas-child-amputees-face-further-risks-without-expert-care-769690.

220. UNICEF, Facing life in the Gaza Strip with a new disability (21 Dec. 2023), https://www.unicef.org/sop/stories/facing-life-gaza-strip-new-disability.

221. 359,000 housing units damaged or destroyed to 7 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel| Flash Update #88 (9 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-88.

222. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israel demolishes Gaza cemeteries, confiscates dead bodies of Palestinians (14 Dec. 2023), https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6032/Israel-demolishes-Gaza-cemeteries,-confiscates-dead-bodies-of-Palestinians.

223. Christoph Koettl and Christiaan Triebert, “Satellite Imagery and Video Shows Some Gazan Cemeteries Razed by Israeli Forces”, The New York Times (14 Dec. 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/14/world/middleeast/gaza-cemeteries-damage-israel.html; Unearthing the dead: Israeli forces destroy cemetery in Gaza city, Al Jazeera English,10 Jan. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zmZwrbwrcc.

224. 121 ambulances to 9 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94; 294 health attacks and 94 health facilities affected to 29 Dec. 2023: WHO, oPt Emergency Situation Update (29 Dec. 2023),
https://www.emro.who.int/images/stories/Sitrep_-_issue_19.pdf.

225. Rami Jarrah @RamiJarrah, Tweet (3:42, 9 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/ramijarrah/status/1744731362391973962; Al-Haq, Al Mezan, PCHR, Civilians trapped under the rubble: medical and rescue teams denied access to IOF-deployed areas (17 Dec. 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/civilians-trapped-under-rubble-medical-and-rescue-teams-denied-access-iof-deployed-areas.

226. OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel — reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94; Al-Haq, Al Mezan, PCHR, Civilians trapped under the rubble: medical and rescue teams denied access to IOF-deployed areas (17 Dec. 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/civilians-trapped-under-rubble-medical-and-rescue-teams-denied-access-iof-deployed-areas.

227. OHCHR, Gaza: Türk urges ceasefire as civilians pushed to frontier amid escalation (19 Dec. 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/12/gaza-turk-urges-ceasefire-civilians-pushed-frontier-amid-escalation; OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #86 (7 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-86; “Gaza civilians afraid to leave home after bombing of ‘safe routes’”, The Guardian (15 Oct. 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/14/gaza-civilians-afraid-to-leave-home-after-bombing-of-safe-routes.

228. OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #10 (16 Oct. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-10; OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 90 (5 Jan. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-90; Walaa Sabah, “War on Gaza: How Israel wiped out one family in a so-called ‘safe zone’”, Middle East Eye (6 Jan. 2024), https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-how-israel-wiped-out-one-family-supposed-safe-zone-gaza.

229. Save the Children, Children’s Mental Health in Gaza Pushed Beyond Breaking Point After Nearly a Month of Siege and Bombardment (7 Nov. 2023), https://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-s-mental-health-gaza-pushed-
beyond-breaking-point-after-nearly-month-siege-and; Nedal Samir Hamdouna, Aseel Mousa, Julian Borger, “The plight of Gaza’s ‘WCNSFs’ – wounded child, no surviving family”, The Guardian (22 Dec. 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/22/the-plight-of-gazas-wcnsfs-wounded-child-no-surviving-family.

230. UNRWA, Letter from UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to the UN General Assembly President Mr. Dennis Francis (7 Dec. 2023), https://www.unrwa.org/resources/un-unrwa/letter-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-un-general-assembly.

231. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, p. 24, para. 65; Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation),
Provisional Measures, Order of 16 March 2022, I.C.J. Reports 2022 (I), pp. 226-227, para. 66; originally from Immunities and Criminal Proceedings (Equatorial Guinea v. France) (Order of 7 December 2016), I.C.J. Reports 2016 (II), p. 1169, para. 90.

232. UNSC resolution 2720 (22 Dec. 2023), The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, S/RES/2720, https://undocs.org/S/RES/2720(2023).

233. UNSC resolution 2712 (15 Nov. 2023), The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, S/RES/2712, https://undocs.org/S/RES/2712(2023).

234. UNGA resolution ES-10/21 (27 Oct. 2023), Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, A/RES/ES–10/21, https://undocs.org/A/RES/ES-10/21; UNGA resolution ES-10/22 (12 Dec. 2023), Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, A/RES/ES-10/22, https://undocs.org/A/RES/ES-10/22.

235. 21,507 killed and 55,915 injured by 29 December 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 84 (29 Dec. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-84; 23,210 killed and 59,167 injured as to 9 January 2024: OCHA, Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel –
reported impact | Day 94 (9 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94.

236. Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Order of 15 October 2008, p. 396, para. 142; Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), Order of 17 November 2023, para. 58.

237. Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), Order of 17 November 2023, para. 55.

238. UNRWA, Situation Report #59 On the Situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (2 Jan. 2024), https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-59-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-Jerusalem; WFP, Gaza on the brink as one in four people face extreme hunger (20 Dec. 2023),
https://www.wfp.org/stories/gaza-brink-one-four-people-face-extreme-hunger.

239. UNRWA, Situation Report #59 On the Situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem (2 Jan. 2024), https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-59-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-Jerusalem.

240. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Developments in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2023) (11 Sept. 2023), TD/B/EX(74)/2, https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/tdbex74d2_en.pdf, paras. 35-58.

241. WFP, Gaza grapples with catastrophic hunger as new report predicts famine if conflict continues (21 Dec.2023), https://www.wfp.org/news/gaza-grapples-catastrophic-hunger-new-report-predicts-famine-if-conflict-continues; CARE International, Gaza: After two months of war, women last to eat and children first to die (7 Dec. 2023), https://www.care-international.org/news/gaza-after-two-months-war-women-last-eat-and-children-first-die; UN News, Global Perspective Human Stories, UPDATED: Everyone is hungry in Gaza, warn UN humanitarians (2 Jan. 2024),
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145227.

242. Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), In Gaza, “the wounded are in danger of dying in the next few hours” (19 Oct. 2023), https://www.msf.org/gaza-wounded-are-danger-dying-next-few-hours-palestine; UNICEF, Intensifying conflict, malnutrition and disease in the Gaza Strip creates a deadly cycle that threatens over 1.1 million children (5 Jan. 2024), https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/press-releases/intensifying-conflict-malnutrition-and-disease-gaza-strip-creates-deadly-cycle.

243. “Gaza’s only cancer hospital goes out of service, health officials say”, Reuters (1 Nov. 2023), https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gazas-only-cancer-hospital-goes-out-service-health-officials-2023-11-01/; Corky Siemaszko, “Thousands of cancer patients in Gaza are out of medication and losing hope, hospital says”, NBC News (1 Jan. 2024), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-idf-warns-military-campaign-gaza-last-20-rcna131784/rcrd28912?canonicalCard=true; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, @DrTedros, Tweet (8:49 p.m., 7 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1744098839110320633?s=20.

244. UN News, Interview: 5,500 women in Gaza set to give birth ‘in race against death’ (7 Nov. 2023), https://news.un.org/en/interview/2023/11/1143327.

245. UN Web TV, UNICEF, WHO, OHCHR, UNHCR – Press Briefing: Rob Holand, Emergency Coordinator WHO (1 Dec. 2023), https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1r/k1ro1d247a (at 22:15).

246. Juzoor for Health and Social Development, The ravages of war: impact on mothers and newborns in Gaza (11 Nov. 2023), https://www.juzoor.org/cached_uploads/download/2023/11/11/maternal-health-report-final-1699726911.pdf; Interview with Dr Mai Al-Kaileh (Palestinian Minister of Health) on Al Arabiya, 27 Dec. 2023, https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1W2QFCvmM8/?igsh=Ynk1NjRzdndnaHM5.

247. Application of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Canada and the Netherlands v. Syrian Arab Republic), Order of 16 November 2023, para. 71

248. “Video shows stripped Palestinian men detained in Gaza”, BBC News (8 Dec. 2023),
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67659296; “Palestinian detainees describe horrific torture by Israeli forces”, Al Jazeera English (26 Dec. 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leVJAiGMDqI; Palestine Online,
@OnlinePalEng, Tweet (4:30 p.m., 7 Dec. 2023), https://twitter.com/OnlinePalEng/status/1732799688259121639.

249. OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #77” (26 Dec. 2023),
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-77; Al-Haq, Al Mezan, PCHR, “Urgent Call for Independent Investigation Amidst Persistent Reports of Torture, Enforced Disappearance, and Another Palestinian “Death” in Israeli Custody” (2 Jan. 2024), https://www.mezan.org/en/post/46349.

250. Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Qatar v. United Arab Emirates),Provisional Measures, Order of 23 July 2018, I.C.J. Reports 2018 (II), p. 431, para. 69.

251. OHCHR, “OPT: Disturbing reports from the north of Gaza of mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances of possibly thousands of Palestinians” (16 Dec. 2023), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-disturbing-reports-north-gaza-mass-detentions-ill-treatment-and-enforced-disappearances-possibly-thousands-palestinians; “‘Where will I leave these children, on the street?’ The struggle for survival faced by disabled Palestinians in Gaza”, CNN (17 Nov. 2023), https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/17/middleeast/disabled-palestinians-gaza-survival-intl-cmd/index.html.

252. UNESCO, “Gaza: UNESCO calls for an immediate halt to strikes against schools” (27 Oct. 2023), https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/gaza-unesco-calls-immediate-halt-strikes-against-schools; OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 73” (19 Dec. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-73.

253. UNSC, resolution 2712, The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, S/RES/2712 (15 Nov. 2023), https://undocs.org/S/RES/2712(2023).

254. Birzeit University, “We, law students of Birzeit University, call on the world to stop the ongoing genocide by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians in Gaza” (13 Nov. 2023), https://www.birzeit.edu/en/news/we-law-students-birzeit-university-call-world-stop-ongoing-genocide-israeli-occupation-against; “Palestinian campus death toll passes 400, says ministry”, Times Higher Education (1 Nov. 2023), https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/palestinian-campus-death-toll-passes-400-says-ministry; Ahmed Asmar, “4,119 Palestinian school students killed,
7,536 injured in Gaza since Oct. 7”, AA (2 Jan. 2024), https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/4-119-palestinian-school-students-killed-7-536-injured-in-gaza-since-oct-7/3097921.

255. OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #86” (7 Jan. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-86; “Laila Hussein Moustafa, “Opinion: When libraries like Gaza’s are destroyed, what’s lost is far more than books”, Los Angeles Times (12 Dec. 2023), https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-12-12/gaza-library-bombing.

256. “Ministry of Education: Over 4,296 Palestinian students killed, 8,059 injured since start of Israeli aggression on October 7”, WAFA (9 Jan. 2024), https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/140607.

257. “Israeli air strike in Gaza kills prominent scientist Sufyan Tayeh: Palestinian ministry”, The Business Standard (3 Dec. 2023), https://www.tbsnews.net/world/israeli-air-strike-gaza-kills-prominent-scientist-sufyan-tayeh-palestinian-ministry-750974. Dr Said Al-Zubda, the President of the University College of Applied Sciences, Nour Naim,
@NourNaim88, Tweet (1:36 p.m., Jan. 1, 2024), https://twitter.com/NourNaim88/status/1741800681567100950.

258. Katherine Hearst, “War on Gaza: Palestinian drama teacher killed amid ‘deadliest’ assault on refugee camp”, Middle East Eye (28 Dec. 2023), https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-palestinian-drama-teacher-killed-israeli-assault-refugee-camp; Killing of Captain Hani Al-Masri a Palestinian footballer and the coach of the Palestinian Olympic football team, Quds News Network, @QudsNen, Tweet (2:29 p.m., Jan. 6, 2024), https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1743625904809452014.

259. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)), Order of 8 April 1993, I.C.J. Reports 1993, p. 22, para. 45; see also Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)), Provisional Measures, Order of 13 September 1993, I.C.J. Reports 1993, p. 347, para. 49.

260. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, p. 26, para. 71

261. Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation), Provisional Measures, Order of 16 March 2022, I.C.J. Reports 2022 (I), p. 228, para. 75.

262. Ibid.

263. Ibid.

264. Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), Provisional Measures, Order of 1 July 2000, I.C.J. Reports 2000.

265. Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), Order of 1 July 2000, I.C.J. Reports 2000, p. 128, para. 43

266. Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua), Provisional Measures, Order of 8 March 2011 (I), p. 24, para. 75.

267. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, p. 27, para. 74, citing Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia), Preliminary Objections,
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1996 (II), p. 615, para. 31.

268. Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela), Provisional Measures, Order of 1 December 2023, para. 37.

269. Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America), Provisional Measures, Order of 3 October 2018, I.C.J. Reports 2018 (II), p. 650, paras. 91-92.

270. Ibid., pp. 643-644, para. 70.

271. Ibid., p. 650, paras. 91-92

272. Ibid., p. 649, para. 89.

273. Ibid., p. 650, para. 92.

274. Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), Provisional Measures, Order of 17 November 2023, para. 62.

275 Ibid., para. 64. See also in this respect, Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, p. 27, para. 73.

276. Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation), Provisional Measures, Order of 15 October 2008, I.C.J. Reports 2008, p. 396, paras. 142-143.

277. Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן, @giladerdan1, Tweet (7:14 p.m., Dec. 22, 2023), https://twitter.com/giladerdan1/status/1738261699713433651.

278. OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #81” (30 Dec. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-81; UN News, “Global Perspective Human Stories, UPDATED: Aid relief arriving in Gaza but ‘too little, too late’, warns WHO” (9 Jan. 2024), https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145347.

279. OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 94” (9 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94; United Nations, “Humanitarian System for More than 2 Million Civilians in Gaza Facing Total Collapse, Secretary-General Warns, Once Again Urging Ceasefire, Aid Delivery at Scale Needed” (27 Oct. 2023), https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm22010.doc.htm.

280. James Elder @1james_elder, Tweet (2:48 p.m., 19 Dec. 2023), https://twitter.com/1james_elder/status/1737107611089272902.

281. OCHA, “Remarks to the media by the Secretary-General” (22 Dec. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/remarks-media-secretary-general (emphasis added).

282. United Nations, “Secretary-General’s opening remarks at press conference on the situation in the Middle East” (22 Dec. 2023), https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2023-12-22/secretary-generals-opening-remarks-press-conference-the-situation-the-middle-east (emphasis added); UN Secretary-General, “People of Gaza ‘Being Told to Move like Human Pinballs’, but Nowhere Is Safe, Secretary-General Tells Security Council, Pleading for Humanitarian Ceasefire” (8 Dec. 2023), https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm22076.doc.htm.

283. United Nations, “Secretary-General’s opening remarks at press conference on the situation in the Middle East” (22 Dec. 2023), https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2023-12-22/secretary-generals-opening-remarks-press-conference-the-situation-the-middle-east (emphasis added).

284. OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #80” (29 Dec. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-80.

285. UN Secretary-General, Report on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2720 (5 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/Raminho/status/1743694636697174388/photo/3 (advanced copy); see also Martin Griffiths, @UNReliefChief, Tweet (12:13 a.m., 29 Dec. 2023), https://twitter.com/UNReliefChief/status/1740526522476191938.

286. OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel – reported impact | Day 94” (9 Jan. 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-94.

287. Interview with UN Relief Chief Martin Griffiths on CNN, 22 Nov. 2023, in Christiane Amanpour, @amanpour, Tweet (4:08 p.m., 22 Nov. 2023), https://twitter.com/amanpour/status/1727343309486542926.

288. United Nations, “Press Conference by Secretary-General António Guterres at United Nations Headquarters” (22 Dec. 2023), https://press.un.org/en/2023/sgsm22095.doc.htm.

289. UNRWA, “Remarks of UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at the Global Refugee Forum” (13 Dec. 2023), https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/statement-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-global-refugee; UNRWA, @UNRWA, Tweet (2:46 p.m., 12 Dec. 2023), https://twitter.com/UNRWA/status/1734585541591486755.

290. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v.
Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, p. 27, para. 69, citing Reservations to
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1951, p. 23.

291. UNGA res. 96, The Crime of Genocide, A/RES/96 (11 Dec. 1946), preamble, as cited in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, pp. 27-28, para. 69.

292. UN News, “Rwanda genocide ‘must leave us always with a sense of bitter regret and abiding sorrow’, says Secretary-General to New York memorial conference” (26 Mar. 2004), https://press.un.org/en/2004/sgsm9223.doc.htm.

293. See Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)), Provisional Measures, Order of 8 April 1993, I.C.J. Reports 1993, p. 24, para. 52; Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar), Provisional Measures, Order of 23 January 2020, I.C.J. Reports 2020, p. 30, para. 86.

294. OHCHR, “Gaza: UN experts decry bombing of hospitals and schools as crimes against humanity, call for prevention of genocide” (19 Oct. 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/gaza-un-experts-decry-bombing-hospitals-and-schools-crimes-against-humanity; OHCHR, “Gaza is ‘running out of time’ UN experts warn,
demanding a ceasefire to prevent genocide” (2 Nov. 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-running-out-time-un-experts-warn-demanding-ceasefire-prevent-genocide; OHCHR, “Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people” (16 Nov. 2023), https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-un-experts-call-international-community-prevent-genocide-against.

295. ICRC, “Gaza: ICRC president calls for the protection of civilians in the face of ‘moral failure’” (4 Dec. 2023), https://www.icrcnewsroom.org/story/en/2075/gaza-icrc-president-calls-for-the-protection-of-civilians-in-the-face-of-moral-failure; ICRC, “Israel and the occupied territories: President of the ICRC arrives in Gaza, calls for the protection of civilians” (4 Dec. 2023), https://www.icrc.org/en/document/israel-and-occupied-territories-president-icrc-arrives-gaza.

296. OCHA, “The war in Gaza must end – Statement by Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, 5 January 2024” (5 Jan. 2024), https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/war-gaza-must-end-statement-martin-griffiths-under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-5-january-2024-enhear.

297. Gemma Connell, Team Leader of OCHA, in UN Humanitarian, @UNOCHA, Tweet (9:09 p.m., 2 Jan. 2024), https://twitter.com/UNOCHA/status/1742276915707211811?s=20.

298. Médecins sans frontières (MSF), “Gaza: “It must all stop now”, Letter to UN Security Council” (4 Dec. 2023), https://www.msf.org/letter-gaza-un-security-council; MSF UK, @MSF_uk, Tweet (3:16 p.m., 6 Dec. 2023), https://twitter.com/MSF_uk/status/1732403598007435695.

299. MSF, “Gaza: MSF doctors killed in strike on Al-Awda Hospital” (21 Nov. 2023), https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gaza-msf-doctors-killed-strike-al-awda-hospital; MSF, “Gaza: “It must all stop now”, Letter to UN Security Council” (4 Dec. 2023), https://www.msf.org/letter-gaza-un-security-council.

300. Gaza Ministry of Health, Facebook Post (25 Dec. 2023), https://www.facebook.com/MOHGaza1994/; OCHA, “Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #77” (26 Dec. 2023), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-77.

301. OHCHR, “Comment by UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango on continued bombardment of Middle Gaza” (26 Dec. 2023), https://www.un.org/unispal/document/un-human-rights-office-is-gravely-concerned-about-the-continued-bombardment-of-middle-gaza-ohchr-press-release/.

302 “‘Christ in the Rubble’: Watch Palestinian Pastor Deliver Powerful Christmas Sermon from Bethlehem”, Democracy Now (26 Dec. 2023), https://www.democracynow.org/2023/12/26/christ_in_the_rubble_christmas_sermon.