Hamas says that 40 Palestinians killed during ICJ sessions is ‘blatant defiance’ of international community

Hamas said on Monday that the Israeli army’s killing of 40 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the Gaza Strip, even as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is in session to discuss Israel’s obligations to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, is a “blatant message of defiance to the international community.”

The resistance movement stressed that the intensive raids on defenceless civilians in residential areas and refugee camps throughout the Gaza Strip, and the killing of more than 40 more people, have to be viewed in the context of the ongoing daily massacres carried out by the occupation state against the Palestinians.

“The occupation state’s escalation coincided with the sessions of the International Court of Justice to discuss Israel’s legal obligations towards the Palestinians, which is a blatant message of defiance to the international community,” said Hamas. “There is an ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

The Zionists, said the movement, display open disregard for international law, the UN and its institutions. “The insistence of the war criminal Netanyahu’s government to continue its brutal genocide against defenceless civilians in the Gaza Strip requires urgent and effective action to deter Zionist terrorism and fascism.” Zionist war criminals should be held to account for their crimes, added Hamas.

The ICJ in The Hague began a week-long hearing on Monday to discuss Israel’s humanitarian obligations towards the Palestinians. This follows more than 56 days of a comprehensive blockade preventing aid from entering the Gaza Strip, which has been suffering under Israel’s genocidal war since 7 October, 2023.

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