France urges Israel to comply with international law in line with UN court’s advisory opinion

France urged Israel on Thursday to comply with obligations under international law in accordance with an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which assessed the legal consequences of Israel’s restrictions on UN agencies, Anadolu reports.

A statement reaffirmed France’s commitment to the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the UN.

It pressed Israel to remove all obstacles preventing “the immediate and uninterrupted” delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The statement urged Israel to cooperate with the UN, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

“France once again underscores the importance of all parties fully implementing the cease-fire agreement, including ensuring the delivery of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the populations in the region,” it said.

The ICJ issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that Israel is legally obligated to allow UNRWA to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Since March, Israel has been preventing UNRWA, the largest aid organization operating in the region, from delivering assistance to Gaza.

UNRWA said it has enough aid supplies stored to fill thousands of trucks, sufficient to meet the food needs of the entire population of Gaza for three months, but Israeli authorities have banned the agency from bringing the aid into the enclave.

Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 68,200 victims in the genocidal onslaught in the enclave, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

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