Reactions To Rafah: Preventing Humanitarian Supply Chain Breakdown – Analysis
By Observer Research Foundation
By Angad Singh Brar
Gaza has seen more than 36,000 Palestinian deaths since the 7 October attacks. To compel multilateral pressure on Israel, South Africa had approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a party to the 1948 Genocide Convention, requesting the Court to order ‘Israel to cease killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinian people in Gaza’. Since 29 December, when South Africa’s request against Israel was taken up by the Registry of the ICJ, Gaza has seen an unhindered addition of 15,000 deaths to the toll.
On 7 May, 2024, Israel extended its offensive to the Rafah Governorate, where more than a million Palestinians had taken refuge while Israel had put the leftover three quarters of Gaza’s territory under evacuation orders. Hinging upon Israel’s Rafah offensive, South Africa went back to the ICJ to seek new provisional measures against Israel since the inclusion of Rafah into the conflict was seen as a substantial change in the situation on ground, meriting new measures from the ICJ.
Adjudicating upon South Africa’s latest application, the ICJ found merit in taking the Rafah offensive as a substantial change in the situation in Gaza and termed the consequent humanitarian situation as ‘disastrous’. After coming under attack, Rafah turned from a humanitarian zone to a ‘high risk area’ (See Picture 1) forcing Palestinians to evacuate again and relocate to Al-Mawasi, a sandy area with little to no infrastructure and buildings leaving refugees out in the open exposed to heat and starvation.
Taking note of this recent mass displacement, the ICJ sternly pronounced that Israel must halt not only its military offensive in the Rafah Governorate, but any other action ‘which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction’. In a declaration attached to the recent ICJ order, Judge Nolte (one of the 15 judges at ICJ) clarified that Israel’s disregard to facilitate unhindered provision of basic services and humanitarian aid creates conditions of life that are adverse to the Palestinians in the zone of conflict. While the court not addressed the question of terming Israel’s actions as genocidal, the active concern of the ICJ remains the sustained provision of humanitarian services to Palestinians.
This brings the near breakdown of humanitarian supply chains and services in Gaza to the fore. While the recent ICJ order exerts multilateral pressure on Israel, there is a parallel exertion from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well. The ICC prosecutor has requested for arrest warrants for both the leaders of Hamas as well as Israel’s leaders on charges of war crimes. In the prosecutor’s request for warrants on Israel’s leaders, a major accusation is on their role in breaking down the supply chain of humanitarian aid delivery and systematically depriving the Palestinians essential supplies like food and medicine by closing crucial border crossings.
The application for warrants against the Israeli Prime Minister also accused him of using starvation as a method of warfare which is a natural result of disrupted humanitarian supply chains. The UN Secretary-General has categorically termed the situation in Gaza as inching towards a . As per the most recent update from the World Food Programme, the hunger situation in Northern Gaza is showing signs of improvement owing to the increased humanitarian access to the area. Apparently, the opening of a new land crossing at Erez West (North Gaza) on the 12 May has helped delivering aid. Despite a feeble improvement in the northern part of Gaza, the offensive on Rafah has led to a deterioration of the hunger situation in the south.
Can the Security Council assist humanitarian supply chains ?
The UN Security Council convened a meeting on 29 May to discuss the situation in Gaza where the South Africa’s representative requested to give effect to the recent orders of the ICJ directing Israel to ‘halt’ the military offensive on Rafah. South Africa’s approach to the UNSC is facilitated by Article 94 of the UN Charter that allows a party to an ICJ judgment to move the UNSC so that the court’s will can be implemented.
Although there has not been a formal invocation of the Article, yet as it remains unclear if the recent ICJ orders, which are provisional measures and not a final judgment, can be enforced by using Article 94 of the UN Charter. Yet, this does not take away the complementary functions of the Security Council and the ICJ. Both these UN organs form a close nexus, especially in context of the Genocide Convention under which Israel is being accused. The ICJ exercises functions of judicial interpretation and decision-making around the Genocide Convention while the UN Security Council is tasked with its monitoring and enforcement. While this nexus becomes operational vis-á-vis Article 94 of the UN Charter remains to be seen, Algeria has already disseminated a draft resolution among UNSC members that directs Israel to halt its Rafah offensive.
It is uncertain if this resolution will survive the political polarity that logjams the UNSC. What remains certain is the ascension of humanitarian concerns of famine, hunger, and starvation into the multilateral conscience. A judicial decision on the question, if Israel is committing genocide in Gaza or is undertaking a military operation that is non-genocidal in character, is not requisite for immediate resumption of effective aid delivery.
The reigning concern at the ICJ, ICC as well as in the efforts at the UNSC remains studded in an active concern that starvation and hunger must not be used as weapons of war. The best way forward for the UNSC would be not to slow down the international momentum towards adding another resolution to the list of ignored documents, but to begin working towards the usage of Article 94 of the UN Charter and explore if the provisional orders of the ICJ can be given effect.
- About the author: Angad Singh Brar is a Research Assistant at Observer Research Foundation.
- Source: This article was published by Observer Research Foundation.
