Five days of hearings into the obligations of Israel to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank opened at the United Nations’ top court Monday, with judges in The Hague hearing a litany of reasons why Israel is violating international law.

Both the UN and Palestinian representatives told judges that Israel’s actions—both as an occupying power and a UN member—violate international law, by making it virtually impossible for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees—UNRWA—to deliver life-saving aid, by attacking personnel and by using starvation as a weapon of war.

Speaking for the Palestinian delegation, lawyer Paul Reichler said this has been illegal at least since the 1946 Nuremberg trial judgements.

“Eight decades later, it is Israel that is deliberately starving more than two million Palestinian civilians in Gaza to achieve its purported war aims by cutting off all supplies of food, water and other essentials of life,” he said.

Israel’s latest blockade of all aid began early last month. Israel says halting aid weakens Hamas and has accused the UN of weaponising international law.

But those addressing ICJ judges on Monday told the court that 600,000 Palestinians have no drinking water now that the sole desalinisation plant is closed.

In addition, they said, all of Gaza’s bakeries are shut, that life expectancy in Gaza has been halved and that there are more children there who have lost limbs than anywhere else in the world

Some 40 countries, including the US, will weigh in on the issue this week. Israel is not represented in court.

The court has ordered Israel to let aid into Gaza before, including last year after South Africa took Israel to the World Court, accusing it of genocide.