Israel “deliberately” destroying life in Gaza, Egypt says at the ICJ: Foreign Ministry legal advisor Yasmine Moussa took to the floor of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to condemn the Israeli occupation of Palestine before a public hearing yesterday for the UN to build an advisory position on the legality of the occupation (watch, runtime: 6:13:25). “Israel is deliberately … creating conditions of life that are intended to make life in Gaza impossible, imposing siege and starvation, including by impeding humanitarian access and the distribution of relief through constant obstruction and bombardment,” Moussa said.

Remember: Egypt is one of 52 states presenting oral arguments at the weeklong publichearings, which run until next Monday, 26 February.

Hamas chief arrives in Cairo for Gaza talks: Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh arrived inCairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian officials on halting the aggression in Gaza and securing humanitarian relief for its residents, AFP reports. The meeting comes just days after top negotiators from Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel met in Cairo for ceasefire talks.

Cairo talks at “critical phase”: Indirect negotiations between Hamas, Israel, and theUS in Cairo on a ceasefire in Gaza have reached a “critical phase,” The National reports, citing diplomatic sources it spoke to. The talks aim to bring forth a second temporary truce to the war in order to prevent an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, the sources said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has paused food aid deliveries to northernGaza until safe distribution can be facilitated, it said in a statement yesterday. After already having suspended deliveries for three weeks after a strike on an UNRWA truck, desperation has led some Palestinains to loot aid trucks. “In most cases, when food does get taken directly from convoys, it’s because of utter desperation, with people even eating it on the spot,” UNRWA Spokesperson Jonathan Fowler said.

The situation is dire: A new study by the Global Nutrition Cluster found that 90% of children under the age of two in northern Gaza face severe food poverty and one in six children of the same age are acutely malnourished. Disease is also spreading throughout the enclave and 90% of children under five have some form of infectious disease amid a severe scarcity of food and safe drinking water.

WHILE AT THE G20-Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the latest developments in the situation in Gaza with his counterparts from across the world during a conference of foreign ministers from the G20 group of nations on Wednesday. Shoukry praised Brazil’s position on the Palestinian issue during his conversation with his Brazilian counterpart, and discussed the situation in Gaza with his counterparts from Russia, Turkey, South Africa, Bolivia, and Uruguay.

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