Yesterday marked exactly one month since the top UN court ordered Israel to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid” and to report back within a month.

However, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Israeli human rights group Gisha all say that Israel is continuing to obstruct the entry and distribution of aid in breach of the ICJ order.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director, said: “Time and time again, Israel has failed to take the bare minimum steps humanitarians have desperately pleaded for that are clearly within its power to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“As the occupying power, under international law, Israel has a clear obligation to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s population are met. No human being should be forced to suffer the inhumane conditions Gazans are being subjected to.

“Instead of lifting their brutal blockade, the Israeli authorities are planning to escalate their attacks with a deadly military operation into Rafah that will have horrific consequences for civilians and risks cutting off the only lifeline for aid entering Gaza.”

She added: “Only an immediate and sustained ceasefire can save lives and ensure that the ICJ’s provisional measures, including the delivery of lifesaving aid, can be implemented.

“Countries with influence over the Israeli government — including the USA, UK, Germany and other allies — must not stand by and watch as Palestinian civilians die preventable deaths due to bombardment, lack of food and water, the spread of diseases and lack of healthcare.”

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said: “The Israeli government is starving Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, putting them in even more peril than before the World Court’s binding order.

“The Israeli government has simply ignored the court’s ruling, and in some ways even intensified its repression, including further blocking life-saving aid.”

He added: “Israel’s blatant disregard for the World Court’s order poses a direct challenge to the rules-based international order.

“Failure to ensure Israel’s compliance puts the lives of millions of Palestinians at risk and threatens to undermine the institutions charged with ensuring respect for international law and the system that ensures civilian protection worldwide.”