Israel using aid blockage as 'weapon of war' - ICJ hears

A senior Palestinian official has told the United Nations' top court that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza as a "weapon of war".

Kicking off a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice about Israel's obligations to United Nations aid agencies, Ammar Hijazi told judges: "Starvation is here. Humanitarian aid is being used as a weapon of war."

The ICJ is holding a week of hearings over Israel's obligations to the UN, including aid agencies, in war-ravaged Gaza before delivering a non-binding "advisory opinion".

Dozens of countries and organisations will address the 15-judge panel in a marathon set of hearings.

Israel is not participating at the ICJ but hit back immediately, dismissing the hearings as "part of the systematic persecution and delegitimisation" of the country.

"All UN-supported bakeries in Gaza have been forced to shut their doors. Nine of every ten Palestinians have no access to safe drinking water," said Mr Hijazi.

"Storage facilities of the UN and other international agencies are empty."

Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza.

It halted aid deliveries to Gaza on 2 March, days before the collapse of a ceasefire that had significantly reduced hostilities after 15 months of war.

The UN estimates 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the two-month ceasefire ended in mid-March.

The UN has asked the ICJ to rule "with the utmost urgency" on the case but will likely take several months to reach its opinion.

Judges will consider Israel's legal obligations towards the UN and its agencies, international organisations or third-party states to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population".

Although the ICJ's advisory opinions are not legally binding, the court believes they "carry great legal weight and moral authority".

Hearings are 'systemic persecution' of Israel, says minister

Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the hearings are part of a "systematic persecution" of Israel.

"This case is part of a systematic persecution and delegitimisation of Israel," Mr Saar told journalists in Jerusalem.

"It is not Israel that should be on trial. It is the UN and UNRWA," he added, referring to the UN aid agency for Palestinians.

In July, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion confirming that Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories was "unlawful" and must end as soon as possible.

"The parties to the conflict have shown little commitment to comply with international law," said Haris Huremagic, a PhD candidate at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

"The request for an advisory opinion reflects broad frustration with the lack of meaningful dialogue to address the dire situation in Gaza," Mr Huremagic wrote on the Voelkerrechtsblog on international law.

Norway's initiative was triggered by an Israeli law banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, from operating on Israeli soil.

Israel accused some UNRWA staff of participating in the Hamas attack.

Independent investigations say it has not provided evidence for its headline allegation.

Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill at least 16

Gaza's civil defence agency said fresh Israeli strikes killed at least 16 people across the Palestinian territory.

The agency said eight people were killed in an Israeli strike on the Abu Mahadi family home in Jabalia, in the north of the territory.

"They were sleeping in their homes, feeling safe, when missiles hit... this scene makes the body shiver," said Abdul Majeed Abu Mahadi, 67, who added that his brother was killed in the attack.

"If a person looked at this scene, they would have seen children, women and elderly men cut into pieces, it makes the heart ache, but what can we do?"

The civil defence agency also reported that an Israeli strike on the Al-Agha family home killed five people in an area of Khan Yunis in the south.

It added that two people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a tent sheltering displaced people in the Al-Shafii camp, west of Khan Yunis.

One more was killed when an Israeli air strike targeted the Abu Mazen roundabout area west of Gaza City, it said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.