Gaza e oltre: la fine del diritto internazionale umanitario?

The Israeli military intervention in Gaza in response to the attack of 7 October 2023 systematically violates the norms of international humanitarian law and according to the International Court of Justice it is “plausible” that a genocide is underway. Violations of the ius ad bellum and the ius in bello are continuous and recurrent in ongoing conflicts. Does all this outline the failure of international law? The article points out its intrinsic weaknesses (its discriminatory nature, the difficulty in keeping up with the pace of technological innovation, the ambiguity of the notions of distinction and proportionality). Yet in the pronouncements of the supranational institutions and of the international jurisdiction it seems that we can glimpse the overcoming of double standards. If the monistic model of legal pacifism is unsustainable and legal pluralism is insurmountable, international law structures a field of struggle, allows to give a shape to controversies and builds a space for negotiations and compromises.