The Hague: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday reiterated that Israel is prohibited from using starvation as a means of warfare in Gaza. The statement came as part of ongoing international scrutiny over the humanitarian situation in the region amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. | ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa stated that the court “recalls Israel’s obligation not to use starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare. ● The reminder from the ICJ follows growing global concern about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where aid organisations have repeatedly warned of food shortages and the risk of famine. ● While the ICJ has not issued any new binding orders, its statement reinforces earlier provisional measures directing Israel to take all possible steps. ● The court’s remarks carry significant diplomatic weight, as they serve to underline that deliberate deprivation of food or other essentials for survival constitutes a potential violation of international humanitarian law. ● Under the Geneva Conventions, the use of starvation as a weapon is strictly prohibited, with violators potentially subject to charges of war crimes. The ICJ, as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, often issues such reminders to reaffirm legal obligations of states under international law.

■ Israel Cannot Use Hunger as a Weapon of War: ICJ (Asia One News)

■ UN rapporteur releases latest report on Israeli genocide, recounting intl. complicity in stark detail (Press TV) | The advance version of the report, titled Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime, by Francesca Albanese, was released on Wednesday. She argued that continued destruction of Palestinian life in the coastal sliver had been enabled through military, economic, diplomatic, and even so-called humanitarian channels provided by states that had consistently prioritized political and strategic interests over human rights. Diplomatically, Western powers, led by the United States and the European Union, have consistently shielded the Israeli regime from accountability, she noted. The UN Security Council’s resolutions demanding ceasefires have been vetoed or diluted, while the regime’s military barbarity has been framed as “legitimate self-defense,” the official said.

Simplicius | It’s clear the EU acts intentionally against the interests of its own so-called members. | Yesterday, two near-simultaneous acts of sabotage saw explosions ripping through oil refineries in both Hungary and Romania. In Hungary it was the MOL in Százhalombatta, which reportedly receives Russian oil, while in Romania the Petrotel-Lukoil, a subsidiary of the Russian parent company. As one commentator writes, these attacks came literally hours after the European Council had just approved to ban Russian gas starting in 2026. [...] The real attacks on Romania and Hungary came just days after Europe essentially gave carte blanche for terror attacks across the EU by way of several top European officials openly condoning not only the Nord Stream attacks, but even attacks against Hungarian oil pipelines. [...] Now, seemingly in coordination with the above intelligence sabotage ops, the Trump administration has announced its first large-scale new sanctions against Russia—in particular, against Russia’s top two oil companies of Rosneft and Lukoil.

■ The US is our adversary, (Дмитрий Медведев)
      ■ Meeting with Putin ‘canceled’ – Trump (10/23/25)

The US president did not rule out that he could meet his Russian counterpart at a later date | US President Donald Trump has called off his planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, saying he does not believe the talks would yield the desired results at this stage of the dialogue. Moscow has yet to comment. Trump made the announcement during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday, saying the planned summit in Hungary...

Trump’s remarks come shortly after the US Treasury Department unveiled additional sanctions on Russia, citing its “lack of serious commitment to a peace process.” The restrictions targeted two of Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as their subsidiaries. Plans for a Putin–Trump summit were first announced last week after the two leaders spoke by phone, although no specific date had been set.

✅ No More Trump Illusions, War Till Victory; US Sanctions Russia Oil Pressures India; Pokrovsk (A. Mercouris)
■ ‘Ghost of Biden still haunts the White House’: What Russian experts say about Trump’s sanctions against Moscow (RT)
■ US sanctions Russian oil companies as Moscow holds nuclear drills (Reuters)
■ Trump-Putin summit ‘on hold’ – US media (10/21/25)