ISTANBUL

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday welcomed the order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking for additional provisional measures, including "unhindered provision" of aid to Gaza. 

In a statement, OIC stressed the need to immediately implement these measures, providing basic services, humanitarian aid, and medical supplies to Palestinians across the Gaza Strip.

OIC called on the member states of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to pressure Israel to implement the court's orders as well as the UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

On Thursday, the ICJ urged Israel to take immediate measures to ensure the "unhindered provision" of basic services and humanitarian aid, such as food, water, fuel, and medical supplies.

The top UN court said: "Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine ... but that famine is setting in."

South Africa filed a case at the ICJ in late 2023, accusing Israel of failing to uphold its commitments under the 1948 Genocide Convention, and on March 6, it requested additional provisional measures based on the change in the situation.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, besides causing mass destruction, displacement, and conditions of famine.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar