ANKARA

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) delivered its legal argument Friday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanding immediate action to protect a UN agency’s humanitarian operations in Palestinian territories.

A hearing came at a critical moment as the Gaza Strip faces catastrophic hunger and Israel continues an assault on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and Jerusalem Affairs Ambassador Samir Diab presented a sweeping condemnation of Israel's policies against UN agencies operating in Palestine and against Palestinians.

He said Israel "relies on illegitimate laws that must be abolished," and demanded the international community provide additional political, legal and financial support to UNRWA.

The OIC official also emphasized that the Court's anticipated advisory opinion "should compel the Israeli occupation to reverse its illegal legislation against UNRWA."

Diab highlighted the gravity of the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, stressing the necessity of compelling Israel, as the occupying power, to permanently and completely halt its aggression.

He reaffirmed the OIC's condemnation of Israel's starvation policies and scorched earth tactics aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from their homeland.

Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s crossings, blocking essential supplies from entering the enclave despite multiple reports of famine in the war-devastated territory.

The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.