On Friday, two weeks after hearing harrowing evidence from both sides, came the international court of justice’s highly anticipated interim ruling on South Africa’s case claim Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
The ruling was significant, but both sides found cause for relief. For Israel it was that the ICJ stopped short of ordering a ceasefire; for Palestine it was that the court found the claims were plausible and required further investigation.
Alongside those findings the court ruled that aid must be allowed into Gaza. But at the same time, another story was breaking – that employees of UNRWA, one of the biggest aid agencies in Gaza, were involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel. The Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, explains how the allegations unfolded.
In response, he tells Nosheen Iqbal, at least 11 countries including the UK have cut funding to the UN agency. With food, clean water and medical supplies so scarce, and UNRWA essential to the lives of many in Gaza, the defunding of the organisation could lead to catastrophic consequences the UN warns. What effect will this have on the shape of the conflict going forward – and on the negotiations currently underway over releasing the hostages and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas?
Photograph: Remko de Waal/EPA
Support The Guardian
The Guardian is editorially independent.
And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all.
But we increasingly need our readers to fund our work.