On 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, issued its provisional measures, determining the plausibility that Israel is carrying out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and ordered Israel to:

1. prevent the commission of genocidal acts
2. prevent and punish public incitement to genocide
3. ensure aid and services reach Palestinians

However, Israel has continued to violate the legally binding order, as well as subsequent orders issued by the Court in March and May 2024, and even after the ceasefire deal of 19 January 2025.

This article lists some – and only some – of the violations committed. It is a summary of a report by the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy. Readers are encouraged to read the full report.

Killings and causing serious bodily or mental harm

The Israeli army continued with aerial and artillery bombardment, targeting hospitals, schools, displacement shelters, and homes, resulting in the killing of over 8,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 20,000 between 27 July 2024 and 26 January 2025.

• Bombing shelter schools: In August 2024 alone, the Israeli military bombed 16 schools used as shelters for forcibly displaced Palestinians, killing 217 people and injuring hundreds more.

• Al-Mawasi Khan Younis massacre: On 10 September 2024, Israeli warplanes targeted displaced Palestinians sleeping in their tents in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi Khan Yunis, killing and injuring over 60 Palestinians.

• Siege of northern Gaza: On 4 October 2024, the Israeli military launched an offensive and siege on Northern Gaza. The siege lasted more than 100 days and resulted in the killing and forced disappearance of over 5,000 Palestinians, and the injury of 9,500 others. Hundreds were killed in aerial bombardments, artillery strikes, and executions by Israeli snipers.

• Flour massacre: On 13 November 2024, the Israeli army opened fire on around 200 Palestinians, northwest of Gaza City, as they waited for humanitarian aid, following nearly 50 days of complete aid denial. Many were forced to seek shelter in a nearby house, when the army bombed the building. The massacre resulted in the killing and injury of 70 Palestinians.

Inflicting conditions of life to bring about physical destruction

• Ongoing forced displacement: During August 2024 alone, the Israeli army issued 16 evacuation orders – an average of one every two days – including in areas previously designated as part of the so-called “humanitarian safe zone.” These orders affected over 250,000 Palestinians and severely disrupted hospital operations and humanitarian efforts.

• Children freezing to death: Between December 2024 and 14 January 2025, seven babies died from hypothermia. These deaths were the result of Israel’s deliberate creation of destructive conditions in Gaza, forcing 90% of the population into displacement, cramming them into overcrowded shelters and then bombing them, destroying the healthcare system, and blocking the entry of essential supplies such as tents, medical aid and food.

• The siege of northern Gaza: Israel inflicted exterminating conditions against Palestinians in the siege of northern Gaza, which lasted for over 100 days, from October 2024, until the ceasefire took effect on 19 January 2025.

• The “Generals’ Plan”: On 5 October 2024, the Israeli military targeted Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia, aiming to forcibly empty Northern Gaza by cutting off humanitarian and medical aid, coercing displacement, and designating those who remained as military targets, paving the way for Gaza’s annexation.

Disrupting humanitarian aid

Israel continued to intentionally hamper the process of humanitarian aid delivery, including by:

• accelerating the banning campaign against UNRWA
• the continued closure of land and border crossings
• the establishment of checkpoints and movement restrictions inside Gaza
• opening fire on starving Palestinians
• crippling the work of humanitarian agencies by attacking or detaining aid workers.

No prevention of public incitement to genocide

Israeli officials, settlers, and civilians continued to incite for ethnically cleansing Palestinians, furthering the settlement and colonization of Gaza, and obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid.

• On 25 November 2024, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly declared plans to reduce Gaza’s population by half within two years through “voluntary migration.” He further stated that Israel “can and must occupy the Gaza Strip” and that this approach should serve as a “model” for the West Bank.

• On 28 November 2024, Israel’s Housing Minister visited Gaza alongside Daniella Weiss, head of the Nachala Settlement Movement. He tweeted about his plans to reestablish settlements in Gaza, sharing a photo of himself looking at a map of planned settlements and calling this the “answer to the ICC.”

Global complicity

When the ICJ issued its provisional measures on 26 January 2024, it was seen as a crucial legal tool to mobilize political action against genocide. Month after month, documentation was compiled demonstrating Israel’s stark violations of the ICJ’s orders, aiming to push policymakers and those in power to pressure Israel to enforce the legally binding orders from the top world court.

Yet, despite clear and overwhelming proof, the response of the international community has been defined by inaction, double standards, and complicity.

From the beginning of the genocide, what was needed to stop the extermination of Palestinians was immediate and decisive political action: sanctions, arms and energy embargoes, accountability, and the isolation of a genocidal state. Instead, the majority of states rewarded the colonial state of Israel with continued diplomatic, economic, and military support, enabling the massacre of over 50,000 Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza.

Despite the various international rulings, including three provisional measures orders and an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice, Israel’s impunity was sustained by the international community.

Of the 153 state parties to the Genocide Convention, only 17 intervened in the ICJ genocide case. Meanwhile, the ICC’s arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant have not only gone unenforced but have been met with attacks and scepticism from Western powers.

The broader legal landscape has been increasingly weaponized to suppress Palestinian activism and legal efforts toward justice. Governments, local authorities, and institutions have adopted laws and policies that hinder Palestinian advocacy and efforts to hold Israel accountable.

This includes the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and anti-BDS legislation that penalizes supporters of sanctions and boycotts of apartheid Israel, resulting in widespread censorship and suppression of Palestinian advocacy.

Solidarity protests with Palestinian people have been banned in at least 12 European counties, including Germany, France, Sweden and Italy. On US campuses, students and teachers leading encampments to cut ties with apartheid Israel have faced mass arrests, physical assaults, and legal persecution for their activism.