Germany says Israel must comply with UN court’s Gaza ruling

Germany on Friday called on Israel to comply with the UN court's Gaza ruling and allow immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.

In a carefully-worded statement, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock refrained from openly criticizing Israel's military offensive, but underlined that it must obey its international obligations.

"The International Court of Justice did not rule on the merits of the case, but ordered provisional measures in interim proceedings. These are binding under international law. Nevertheless, Israel must also comply with them," Baerbock said.

"At the same time, the court has made it clear that Israel's actions in Gaza follow the barbaric terror of October 7 and reminded us that Hamas is also bound by international humanitarian law and must finally release all hostages," she stressed.

"We will support this with all our strength, as well as the court's order to Israel, to urgently allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza," Baerbock added.

The International Court of Justice delivered its interim ruling on Friday, and ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but fell short of ordering a cease-fire. The court also ordered an improvement in the humanitarian situation.

South Africa, which brought the case, had asked the court to rule on interim measures, including that Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians, and ensure that displaced people return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip in the wake of an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas. The Israeli response has killed 26,083 Palestinians and injured 64,487 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while more than half of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.