The ICC should prosecute Israelis responsible for bombing hospitals, denying access to medicines and vaccines, and causing excessive civilian harm.
On Jan. 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague issued an initial ruling in South Africa’s lawsuit accusing Israel of genocidal acts in Gaza. The court did not call for an immediate cease-fire, nor did it rule on whether Israel is in fact committing a genocide, but it did instruct Israel to take provisional measures to prevent genocidal acts. In its ruling, the court noted “a large number of deaths and injuries, as well as the massive destruction of homes, the forcible displacement of the vast majority of the population, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.”
A less noted pillar of the case against Israel, however, is its systematic assault on Gaza’s medical infrastructure. Since Hamas’s horrific Oct. 7 attack, Israel has repeatedly targeted health care facilities, ambulances, and access roads. It has arrested health care workers, blockaded fuel needed for generators, and withheld critical medical and surgical supplies—all of which are intended to undermine Gaza’s health care system.
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A man inspects the damage in a room at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 17, 2023, following Israeli bombardment. AFP via Getty Images
This article was written by Kenneth Roth and Annie Sparrow and published by Foreign Policy on February 9, 2024. Read the full article on foreignpolicy.com.