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When the laws of war fail: Gaza, Genocide, and the International Justice System

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Historical and Political Backdrop of the Humanitarian Crisis

The Gaza Strip- a place experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe, transcending military confrontation- reflects deeper violations of international humanitarian law and legal protections enshrined under the Geneva Convention. A war that started on 7th October 2023, as an act of self-defence, has now engulfed the Palestinians and left the population miserable. Though manipulated, the statistics are still solid enough to raise concerns over the plight of Gazans. As reported by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC),[1] Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached ‘astonishing levels’[2], with nearly 100,000 women and children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, and one-third of Gaza’s population going days without eating, wherein the WHO says that the numbers are likely an undercount. While hunger and death tolls continue to haunt the Gazans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on 10th August 2025, rejected the claim of starvation in Gaza while calling it” a global campaign of lies”; furthermore, he claimed that their goal is to “free Gaza”. The actions of Israel have received international condemnation on one side, and support on the other side, by global powers like the U.S.A., wherein it defended Israel at the UN Security Council meeting by stating that the latter had a right to decide what’s best for its security, and called the allegations of genocide in Gaza false.[3]. PM Netanyahu also accused Hamas of diverting the large amounts of aid- a claim which the UN denies.[4]. The international state system has called out the situation in Gaza concerning the humanitarian crisis as one of the most outrageous acts after the Holocaust.

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter[5] prohibits the threat or use of force against any state's territorial integrity or political independence, [6]Exceptions being self-defence under Article 51 or UNSC authorisation on reasonable grounds. Israel asserts that its military campaign is an act of self-defence against Hamas and its spread. At the same time, critics argue that the scale, duration, and targeting patterns far exceed the necessity and proportionality of use of force requirements under jus ad bellum. The prolonged blockade and civilian impact raise a deeper question - whether use of force is a legitimate defensive measure, or if it has become an unlawful act of aggression.


Judicial Recognition of Atrocity: The Role of the ICJ and ICC

The International Criminal Court, having jurisdiction over the crimes committed on Palestinian territory, had issued arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas’ military chief Mohammed Deif, on 21st November 2024, accusing them of crimes against humanity, citing that there was reason to believe that the Netanyahu and Gallant have used ‘starvation as a method of warfare’ by restricting humanitarian aid, and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas. The warrants sparked significant backlash from the US and Israel because neither is a member of the Court.


On 26th January, 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an Order on Provisional Measures[7], after accepting that South Africa made a ‘plausible case’ against Israel that some of the latter’s actions fall within the scope of the Genocide Convention. The provisional measures ordered by the ICJ, to be followed by Israel, included: Israel taking all measures in its power to prevent acts falling under Article II.[8] Of the Convention, Israel to ensure its military does not commit genocidal acts; Israel to deter and punish incitement to genocide; Israel to enable the humanitarian assistance to reach Gaza; Israel to preserve evidence of alleged genocidal acts; and Israel to submit a report to the Court within a month on the measures taken. The orders given by the International Justice System are unenforceable, which is one factor, other than the fact that the ICJ did not order a ceasefire then, and relied on Israel’s continuing right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.[9]. However, it did legally recognise the risk of genocide and imposed due obligations that the Israel Defence Forces must follow.  Despite the escalating atrocity, global powers and the multilateral peace institutions have largely failed to exercise meaningful restraint or prevent the ‘genocide-like’ situation.


Systematic Breaches of International Humanitarian Law

Jus in bello govern the rules of warfare by signifying that the parties at war with each other must distinguish between the combatants and civilians with efforts to sustain minimum injury to the civilian population as compared to the anticipated military damage, and the force used should be proportional to the harm caused to the initiating party. In the instant case, indiscriminate bombardment of densely populated areas, destruction of hospitals, and starvation tactics appear to violate distinction and proportionality principles, even if a jus ad bellum case of self-defence is accepted.  


Armed conflict in Gaza through indiscriminate attacks has led to fatalities crossing 61,000 Palestinians, including women, children and humanitarian workers, according to the Health Cluster and WHO in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The civilians are not only targeted in the densely populated areas.[10], but also when they go in the hope of getting some aid (food or medicines), wherein the UN body says that Israeli forces have killed over 1000 aid-seekers in Gaza since May 2025- the victims of the horror were either trying to reach food distributions or waiting for convoys to supply essential medicines. The civilians call it a ‘death trap’, which they have to take the risk for, because ‘they have to feed their kids’- the larger question is, is this the death of humanity? Is this symbolic of the fact that the weak do not have rights over their lives?


United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and WHO reported that the civilians who sustained traumatic injuries to the lower limbs, head and spine would have acute and ongoing rehabilitation needs for years.[11]. The only standing and operational hospital in the southern Gaza Strip is Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which receives tens of cases of acute malnutrition in children below five every single day. An Israeli raid on Kamal Adwan hospital on 27 December put the last central health facility in North Gaza out of service, while its director, Hussam Abu Safiya, was arbitrarily detained along with 240 other personnel and patients.[12].


The released detainees and prison staff speak as whistle-blowers, testifying to the horrors of the regular use of severe physical violence, including sexual assault and rape, against the Palestinian detainees. They are denied food, water, daylight, and medical treatment. On 26 January, 28 March and 24 May, 2024,[13] The ICJ ordered Israel to implement provisional measures to prevent genocide in all forms in the Gaza territory, to which the Israeli government paid no heed. Furthermore, starvation and malnutrition have taken a toll on the unborn and the pregnant mothers as well- the period which they deserve to live with dignity is now a time of constant fear about the death of their unborn, a feeling which no mother in this world should feel. Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe,[14] called upon the international state system to act swiftly to stop the death of more children due to malnutrition from this ‘preventable, man-made crisis’[15].


The atrocities of the war extend far beyond boundaries, wherein even the Palestinian citizens of Israel faced arrest and discrimination when they expressed their opposition to the unprecedented attacks on Gaza. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory continued to be barred from entering Israel and the OPT. [16]Despite sending 15 requests to the Israeli government for information, it hasn’t received any response. The long-term effects of this barbaric war have been highlighted in the report by the UN Environmental Programme.[17] It noted that the debris from mass destruction of infrastructure, white phosphorous ordnance and industrial and medical waste- estimated at around 39 million tonnes- was releasing extremely high levels of hazardous substances in Gaza. These contaminants are leaching into the soil, coastal aquifer, air and marine environments, posing long-term risks to human health and ecosystems.[18].


Gaza, which has been on the verge of famine for two years with increasingly stringent blockades by Israel, has dramatically worsened the situation. The dead body of 2 1/2-year-old Ro’a Mashi lay on the table in Gaza’s Nasser Hospital as of 8th August 2025, her arms and rib cage skeletal, her eyes sunken in her skull. Doctors say she had no preexisting conditions and wasted away over months as her family struggled to find food and treatment.[19]- This is the story of one family, and there are hundreds and thousands of others. Since the data and surveillance systems are eroded by Israel’s offensive, with hospitals damaged, the death toll and health indicators remain underestimated, because of which, it has become challenging to declare famine in Gaza (often done by UN officials together with governments making a formal declaration). Alongside, one cannot undermine the politics playing a horrendous hand behind the ongoing war.


Genocide under International Law: A Critical Appraisal

The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, also called the Genocide Convention, defines genocide in Article II.[20] As:

‘In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.’ [21]


Article III[22] Criminalises genocide, conspiracy, incitement, attempt, and complicity. Article I[23] Obliges all states not only to refrain from genocide but also to prevent and punish it. In the South Africa vs. Israel case before the ICJ, the argument of South Africa revolved around the facts of large-scale human life destruction, starvation aided by blockade and targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, qualifying as the grounds for genocide under Article II (a-c), making the acts of Israeli Defense Forces genocidal in nature. Furthermore, the IDF had been unable to prevent the nature of these acts, making the alleged acts ultra vires the Convention.


Genocide under Article II comes with a special reference to ‘intent to destroy…’, whereby indicating that genocide requires dolus specialis or a special intent to destroy the group, in whole or in part. South Africa, in its case, also argued on the pretext that Israel’s conduct shows not just collateral damage as a result of war, but also a pattern in such destruction, which is conducive to calling the acts undertaken by the IDF genocidal.


Though the ICJ has reserved the verdict of final determination of this question for a later date, yet the international state system is no less than a witness to the atrocities inflicted upon the population in Gaza, ‘punishing’ them for residing in a territory (for decades) where once Hamas had shelter in bunkers. The latter would have reasonably and undeniably left the said territory long ago, while the innocent population strives at its cost. The entire Gaza Strip has been turned into rubble in the wake of a ‘self-defensive war’ launched by the Israeli government.[24] The prominent question before the international justice system still stands firm: Whether the lives in Gaza are worth the thirst for power of another country? Should the innocent population be left to strive for even the necessities like food, water, shelter, and a fresh and clean environment?


Building a path towards justice and lasting peace

While these questions stand at the brink of mass destruction, answers lie in the eyes of all those who have lost someone dear to them in that unfortunate land of 365 sq. km. The international community is now responsible for upholding the ‘Responsibility to Protect’[25] - for shielding the vulnerable population, which stands at the edge of perishing and victims of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.[26] The failure to provide humanitarian assistance has further violated the norms of International Humanitarian Law. The geopolitical deadlock especially in the UNSC (including US Veto power and Israel’s non-party status) has hindered any robust protective measure, demonstrating the gap between the moral imperative of Responsibility to Protect and the political reality, where the hunger for ‘power and control’ has blinded the ‘struggle for survival’ in the eyes of thousands of Gazan children. Therefore, the pressing question remains: ‘Whether the global order today has truly lost its ability and will, while failing in its fundamental duty- to protect the innocent civilians from the abyss of destruction.


[2] UN World Food Programme, Statement of Ross Smith, Dir., (July 29, 2025).

[3] Joseph Krauss, Netanyahu Rejects Claims of Starvation in Gaza, Calls It “Global Campaign of Lies,” AP News (Aug. 10,2025), https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-hostages-gaza-08-10-2025-e25dba4aa05fc69cda8949391ca7e5c9.

[4] Wafaa Shurafa, Netanyahu Denies Starvation in Gaza; UN Disputes Claim, AP News, https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-children-starvation-israel-netanyahu-0549e843c24fe7f20f1e7ce085502450.

[5] U.N. Charter art. 2, ¶ 4.

[6] View source for National position of the United Kingdom (2021) - International cyber law: interactive toolkit. https://cyberlaw.ccdcoe.org/w/index.php?title=National_position_of_the_United_Kingdom_(2021)&action=edit&section=3

[7] Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (S. Afr. v. Israel), Provisional Measures, Order of Jan. 26, 2024, I.C.J. Rep. 192, https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192/provisional-measures.

[8] Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide art. II, Dec. 9, 1948, 78 U.N.T.S. 277.

[9] U.N. Charter art. 51.

[10] Amnesty Int’l, Israel/OPT: Israeli Air Strikes That Killed 44 Civilians Further Evidence of War Crimes—New Investigation (May 2024), https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/05/israel-opt-israeli-air-strikes-that-killed-44-civilians-further-evidence-of-war-crimes-new-investigation/.

[11] Amnesty Int’l, Israel’s Occupation of Palestinian Territory, https://www.amnesty.org/en/projects/israels-occupation-of-palestinian-territory/(Dec. 5, 2024).

[13] (2023). Qatar : Qatar Denounces Israeli Occupation's Non-Cooperation with UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Occupied Palestinian Territory. MENA Report, (), .

[14] (2024). Qatar : Minister of State for International Cooperation Meets WFP Regional Director. MENA Report, (), .

[15] Statement of Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children Reg’l Dir. for the Middle East, North Africa & E. Europe (Aug. 2025).

[16] (1997). And governance in Australian Aboriginal communities: Liberal and neo-liberal political reason. https://core.ac.uk/download/357567776.pdf

[17] U.N. Env’t Programme, Environmental Impact of the Conflict in Gaza, at 1–39 (June 2024), https://www.un.org/unispal/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/environmental_impact_conflict_Gaza.pdf. 

[18] Id.

[19] Wafaa Shurafa, Gaza’s Famine Deepens as Child Dies of Starvation, AP News (Aug. 8, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/palestinians-gaza-children-starvation-israel-netanyahu-0549e843c24fe7f20f1e7ce085502450.

[20] Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide art. II, Dec. 9, 1948, 78 U.N.T.S. 277.

[21] (1997). And governance in Australian Aboriginal communities: Liberal and neo-liberal political reason. https://core.ac.uk/download/357567776.pdf

[22] Id. art. III.

[23] Id. art. I.

[24] Canadian Peace Congress condemns Israeli aggression in Lebanon – Canadian Peace Congress. http://www.canadianpeacecongress.ca/west-asia/palestine/israeli-aggression-against-lebanon/

[25] Rep. of the U.N. Secretary-General, Implementing the Responsibility to Protect, U.N. Doc. A/63/677 (Jan. 12, 2009).

[26] United Nations Photo - 2022623_LF_2826.tif. https://dam.media.un.org/asset-management/2AM9LOI6PUHY

 

 
 
 

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