The International Court of Justice (ICJ), often referred to as the World Court, issues advisory opinions that hold significant legal and political influence. However, these opinions are not legally binding, and the court lacks the authority to enforce them.

On Wednesday, ICJ judges ruled that Israel had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its allegation that a large number of employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) are affiliated with Hamas.

“The court has concluded that using starvation as a method of warfare is unlawful,” one observer noted. “Moreover, it found that Israel took deliberate actions to block food supplies from reaching civilians in Gaza.”

“On the one hand, you have the court finding that starvation as a method of warfare is illegal, and on the other, the court found that Israel deliberately prevented food from reaching the civilian population in Gaza,” he said.