In April, the court asked the Israeli government for clarifications, ahead of a new hearing set for Sunday.

In its response to the court this week, Israel said the measures it had taken so far to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid went beyond its obligations.

"It is inconceivable that the respondents, who admit to having no idea of the extent of the aid needed by the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, should claim to have fulfilled their obligation, and even more so," the five associations said in response to the government's position.

Israel is failing to meet "its obligations as occupying power" to provide basic necessities to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, they said, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The shortages evident in the Palestinian territory "show that the military is not meeting its obligations either in terms of the quantity needed or the pace required," said Gisha, one of the NGOs that submitted the petition.

Humanitarian organizations have long complained about the difficulties of getting aid into the Gaza Strip.

But Israel, which has been waging an all-out military offensive in the territory for nearly seven months, insists it is not restricting the flow of aid and blames the shortages on distribution problems on the part of humanitarian organizations.

COGAT, the Israeli body responsible for coordinating Israeli policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, said Tuesday there had been "a significant increase in the volume of humanitarian aid entering Gaza," with more than 6,000 truckloads of food, water, medical equipment and shelter materials entering Gaza in April.

The UN, which says hunger is stalking the enclave, has repeatedly said Israeli restrictions and checks are hampering deliveries.

OCHA, the UN's humanitarian agency, said this week it had managed to carry out only 52 out of 94 planned humanitarian missions in April, with a quarter of them having been obstructed, 10 percent denied and the rest canceled because of logistical constraints.

On October 7, commandos from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas carried out an attack in southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP toll based on official Israeli figures.

According to Israel, more than 250 people were abducted and 128 are still being held in Gaza, 35 of whom are presumed dead.

In retaliation, Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas and launched a vast offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has so far killed more than 34,600 people, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

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