Israel on Monday boycotted a hearing at the United Nations’ top court on its decision to ban a UN aid agency that has served millions of Palestinians since it was established in 1949.

A Palestinian diplomat has told the United Nations’ top court that Israel is killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza in a case that Israel criticized as part of its “systematic persecution and delegitimization.

The UN's top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has begun hearings for an opinion on Israel's legal duty to allow aid to Palestinians and to co-operate with the UN's Palestinian aid agency, Unrwa – both of which Israel has barred in Gaza.