Nicaragua has formally requested that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) intervene in its dispute with Germany, arguing that the European nation is in breach of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The core of Nicaragua's argument is that by supplying Israel with military equipment and cutting funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Germany is failing in its legal obligation to prevent genocide and ensure international humanitarian law is upheld in the Gaza Strip.

This legal move follows months of intense military conflict in Gaza, which began after the October 7 attacks. Nicaragua’s filing specifically targets Germany’s role as a major arms supplier to Israel, suggesting that this support makes Germany complicit in the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region. While the ICJ has previously issued provisional measures regarding Israel's conduct in Gaza, this new case specifically targets a third-party state for its alleged enabling role. Germany has not yet issued a detailed formal response to the specific claims made in this filing, though the German government has historically maintained that its support for Israel is rooted in its own historical responsibility and the right of states to self-defense. The ICJ will now have to determine whether it has jurisdiction to hear the case and whether to grant the emergency measures requested by Nicaragua.