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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)
Response of the State of Israel to the question posed by Judge Nolte at the oral
hearing of 17 May 2024 on South Africa’s fourth request for provisional measures
18 May 2024
“Can Israel provide information about the existing humanitarian conditions in the
designated evacuation zones, in particular Al-Mawasi, and how it would ensure safe
passage to these zones, as well as the provision of shelter, food, water and other
humanitarian aid and assistance to all evacuees that are, and can be expected to
arrive, in these zones?”
Introduction
1. Israel is acutely aware that armed hostilities in urban populated areas pose grave
risks to the civilian population, and that Hamas, in its disregard to life and to the law,
exploits this reality. Israel is committed to minimizing harm to civilians, consistent and
sometimes even beyond the requirements of international law. Calling for the evacuation
of civilians is undertaken precisely for this purpose.
2. Israel is moreover aware that the humanitarian situation is constantly changing, and
that new needs arise. To this end, it engages proactively with a host of relevant stakeholders
attending to the needs to the civilian population and overseeing the management of shelter
complexes within the designated humanitarian areas. This ongoing engagement serves to
identify and address the evolving needs of the affected civilian population.
3. During the course of hostilities, the IDF has engaged in evacuation efforts in
different parts of the Gaza Strip, especially in the northern part, using various means,
methods and resources to encourage evacuation of civilians from areas of differing
population density, infrastructure and other characteristics. As the purpose of such efforts
is to enhance security to civilians, their security is also taken into account when
determining what routes may be used for such evacuation. To that end, the IDF employs
tactical pauses in fighting along evacuation routes and even secures these routes with its
own forces.
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Location of the evacuation area
4. A humanitarian area is chosen based on various criteria, primarily areas removed
from IDF operational activities and which can accommodate the expected evacuated
civilian population. As part of the efforts to facilitate the evacuation of the civilian
population from areas in the Rafah region where intense hostilities are expected, a
humanitarian area was initially delineated by Israel in the Al-Mawasi area. In order to
accommodate the number of expected evacuees and facilitate sufficient place and
infrastructure to address their needs, that humanitarian area was expanded very
significantly on 6 May 2024 towards central Gaza to include, based on an ongoing situation
assessment of the evacuation status, additional regions beyond the Al-Mawasi area.
Civilians have been encouraged to evacuate to this area for their protection.
5. The continuing process of providing warnings to civilians encouraging them to
evacuate and designating evacuation routes and a recommended destination is contingent
on the intended destination being relatively remote from areas of ground operational
activity and able to contain the expected civilian evacuees. COGAT is in continuous
contact with various international organizations operating in the humanitarian area in order
to get as complete and up-to-date picture as possible of the humanitarian situation on the
ground at the relevant locations, with the intent that the humanitarian needs of the civilian
population are met.
6. Precisely for this reason, the operation in the Rafah area is being conducted
gradually. Rather than asking the civilian population in the whole of the Rafah area to
evacuate, incremental and localized warnings have been given to specific areas where
operations are expected at a given time (currently east Rafah). This gradual approach is an
integral part of the IDF’s operational plans to accommodate the progressive and more
limited evacuation of Rafah. The approach is aimed at ensuring the integration of the
evacuated civilian population in designated humanitarian areas where their needs can be
met.
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Map depicting location of the humanitarian area, which engulfs the Al Mawasi area
Sample flyer explaining location and expansion of the humanitarian area
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COGAT announcements of expansion of humanitarian area, 6 May 2024
7. The humanitarian area, which includes the Al-Mawasi area, is located outside the
area of currently planned hostilities. Therefore, international organizations move within
this area without coordinating their movements with Israel. Even after the start of Israel’s
activities in Rafah, such movements in the designated humanitarian area continue
undisturbed.
Access of civilians to the evacuation area
8. There are two main humanitarian routes that reach the expanded humanitarian area:
the Coastal Road and the Salah Al-Adin Road. Some warnings issued may encourage
civilians to use a specific humanitarian route. A specific route is recommended to the
population in order to help protect the civilians as they evacuate to the humanitarian area,
and it is used together with the system of sector numbering previously presented to the
Court, to better communicate to the civilian population recommended routes for their
movement through a “common language”.
9. Like the sectoral map, the humanitarian route is identified on the IDF’s operational
system used by ground forces, as well as by the Air Force and Navy. This identification
allows all IDF personnel to be aware of the location of humanitarian routes and to take into
account the presence of civilians there. Restricted fire areas (RFAs) are another tool that is
commonly used by the IDF, and is integrated into the operational system, as a further
measure intended to ensure that IDF forces will not operate in close proximity to
humanitarian routes used by civilians.
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10. In order to allow evacuation, as well as to allow the civilians that remain outside
the humanitarian area to gather necessary humanitarian aid, tactical pauses continue to be
implemented in relevant areas almost daily, as previously presented in Israel’s submissions.
11. The Civilian Harm Mitigation Unit in the IDF’s Southern Command is in charge of
providing warnings to civilians and monitoring the movement of the civilian population.
This unit, together with COGAT, helps efforts to track the location of the civilian
population in Gaza in real time and to mitigate the risk to such civilians, as far as possible
in the circumstances, from the dangers of active hostilities.
12. It should be noted that while a majority of civilians who have evacuated by now
have indeed moved to the designated evacuation areas, other civilians chose to evacuate to
other areas. Moreover, in some cases, civilians have evacuated from places in Rafah with
respect to which the IDF did not issue a specific evacuation warning. However, according
to Israel’s assessment, the majority of the relevant population has evacuated to the
humanitarian area.
13. According to Israel’s assessment, approximately 500,000 civilians have evacuated
the Rafah area to date following sectoral warnings issued by the IDF. Approximately
300,000 more civilians have evacuated on their own initiative from areas in Rafah that did
not receive evacuation warnings. This brings the total number of evacuees to approximately
800,000.
Provision of humanitarian aid to the humanitarian area
14. As noted above, movement within the humanitarian area does not require prior
coordination with Israel. The newly constructed temporary pier (JLOTS), which began
operating yesterday, is located to the north of the humanitarian area, and routes leading to
and from the pier pass through the humanitarian area, making it possible to deliver aid from
the JLOTS as well to the humanitarian area. As Israel has told the Court, the pier is
expected to enable the delivery of approximately 2.2 million food portions per day by the
World Food Programme.
15. As for the supply of humanitarian aid to the humanitarian area via land crossings,
convoys making their way to the humanitarian area do not require prior coordination,
unless they pass directly through Rafah or other active fighting areas. At present, convoys
headed to the humanitarian area do not require passing through areas of active fighting.
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16. Since the evacuation of Rafah began, movement of trucks from Kerem Shalom to
west Rafah has been possible on a southern route that runs along the Gazan side of the
border with Egypt, in coordination with the IDF. From west Rafah, the Coastal Road to the
humanitarian area is accessible and can be used by aid organizations without prior
coordination with the IDF.
17. Should the need arise, land routes from Israel into northern Gaza can also be utilized
to provide humanitarian aid to the humanitarian area.
18. Israel continues to facilitate the movement of UN organizations and NGOs that
does require coordination, and will continue such coordination of convoys and aid workers
to the humanitarian area.
19. Food. As previously presented to the Court in detail in the Report of 26 February
2024 and Report of 28 April 2024, Israel has been facilitating the entry of more and more
food, as well as other humanitarian consignments, since the early phases of the conflict.1
The international organizations operating in the Gaza Strip distribute the food based on
their evaluation of the population’s needs.
20. International organizations operating in Gaza have food storage warehouses located
at some distance from where ground operations are currently taking place. The need to
coordinate the movement of international organizations towards the humanitarian area has
not yet risen, due to the distance of the area from the ground operations. Israel is prepared
to coordinate the movement of aid workers and convoys to and from warehouses to the
humanitarian area if circumstances so require.
21. In addition, there are currently four private sector bakeries operating in the
humanitarian area, producing 1,375,000 pitas per day.
22. Water. As stated by Israel in previous submissions, Israel has by now repaired the
three water lines that provide water from Israel to the Gaza Strip, which were damaged as
a result of the hostilities, particularly during Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023. Of these,
the Bani Suheila water line, which is now fully operational, reaches the humanitarian area,
including Al-Mawasi. Israel recently facilitated the repairs of this waterline in cooperation
with the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) on the Palestinian side, specifically in order to
help expand the distribution of water throughout Gaza, particularly to the humanitarian
area. This waterline is also connected to two larger water tanks located in the Al-Mawasi
area, which allow the storage of water. This waterline enables the entry of 15,000 cubic
1 Since the beginning of the current conflict, 18,577 trucks carrying 399,580 tons of food have entered the Gaza Strip.
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meters of water per day, of which at least 2,000 cubic meters reach the Al-Mawasi area per
day.
23. An additional waterline from Israel that provides water to the northern part of the
humanitarian area is Birkat Sa'eed. This waterline is fully operational, and allows the entry
into Gaza of 11,500 cubic meters per day.
24. In addition to pipelines, Israel continues to facilitate the entry of bottled water into
the Gaza Strip through the various land crossings.2 Similarly to food, water is distributed
by international organizations in accordance with their evaluation of the population’s
needs.
25. Israel is also facilitating the entry of fuel, in coordination with the UN, so as to
enable the operation of, inter alia, water pumps in the humanitarian area. This enables the
continued use of 32 wells and six desalination plants that operate in the area.
26. Shelter. Israel has been working in cooperation with a range of international actors
to establish shelter complexes in Gaza.3 Once the establishment of a shelter complex and
its location are coordinated with the relevant organization, the necessary equipment is
delivered to it, including tents, generators and other resources essential for its establishment
and operation.
27. This also applies to establishing compound shelters specifically in the humanitarian
area. Israel itself recently purchased 40,000 tents (which can accommodate up to 320,000
people), intended to establish additional shelter compounds in the humanitarian area. Seven
thousand of these tents have already entered Gaza.
28. Additional designated shelter complexes have also been set up in the humanitarian
area in coordination with Egypt. The establishment of a compound for the Rahma
organization, an Egyptian aid organization, was also recently approved, and progress is
underway as the organization prepares the area and assembles the tents.
29. As regards UN shelter complexes, the UN generally does not coordinate the
location of its shelters in advance with Israel. The UN typically sets up shelters
independently, and subsequently dispatches a deconfliction request to the IDF. The
majority of these shelters are actually various UN facilities, such as warehouses or schools,
repurposed as shelters.
2 Since the beginning of the current conflict, 1,701 trucks carrying 33,920 tons of water have entered the Gaza Strip.
3 Annex C: Map of Shleter Complex in Gaza. Since the beginning of the current conflict, 4,186 trucks carrying
59,660 tonnes of shelter equipment have entered the Gaza Strip.
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30. The IDF maintains ongoing communication with international organizations
concerning shelter complexes. For instance, on 30 April 2024, IDF officers convened a
meeting with a senior official from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), during which an initial assessment of potential shelter locations was presented in
anticipation of the population evacuation from Rafah.
31. The total amount of shelter equipment that has entered Gaza until today can be used
to provide shelter to up to 1.85 million people.
32. Healthcare. Further to the information presented by Israel during the oral hearing,
six of the eight field hospitals in Gaza are located in the humanitarian area, with two of
these located in Al-Mawasi area just outside of the humanitarian area. Mobile clinics
continue to operate in the Al-Mawasi area, too. The clinics and field hospitals located
outside the humanitarian area remain accessible. One more field hospital to be operated by
Rahma is due to open later this month in the Al-Mawasi area.
33. Israel reiterates and reaffirms its commitment to acting in accordance with
all of its international legal obligations, including under international humanitarian law,
not least those that bear on the protection of the civilian population and addressing its
needs. In keeping with this commitment, Israel has been facilitating a scale-up of
humanitarian assistance, improved deconfliction measures to ensure the safety of
humanitarian personnel, facilitated the repair and operation of critical infrastructure, and
encourages the evacuation of civilians for their safety. Israel will be defending itself in
accordance with international law.
34. The Prime Minister of Israel expressed this very sentiment on numerous recent
occasions. On 22 March 2024, for example, he said that “… We recognize the need to
evacuate the civilian population from areas of war and of course to take care also of the
humanitarian needs, and we are operating accordingly”.4 This remains equally true today.
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4 Prime Minister of Israel on X (3:41PM, 22 March 2024),
https://x.com/IsraeliPM_heb/status/1771170449570865594.
Written reply of the State of Israel to the question put by Judge Nolte at the public sitting held on 17 May 2024