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The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has warned that blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip could constitute a crime.
“Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva Conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction,” the prosecutor said at a Cairo press conference.
“I saw trucks full of goods, full of humanitarian assistance stuck where nobody needs them, stuck in Egypt, stuck at Rafah,” he said.
“These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay.”
Khan said he wanted “to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts without further delay to make sure civilians (in Gaza) receive basic food, medicines“.
The chief prosecutor also addressed the Hamas militant Islamist group that runs Gaza, urging it not to divert aid. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union, Germany, the United States, Israel and several others.
“Hamas and anybody who has control in Gaza … when such aid reaches Gaza it’s imperative that assistance gets to the civilian population and is not misused or diverted away from them.”
Khan spoke after he visited the Rafah crossing that links Egypt to the Gaza Strip. It is currently the only entry point for international aid to enter the Palestinian enclave as Israel sealed its border crossings with Gaza in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.
Since limited aid deliveries resumed on October 21, a total of 117 trucks have entered the territory. Prior to Israel’s siege, some 500 trucks carrying aid and other goods entered the Gaza Strip every day.
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