Israel cannot be forced to allow the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA to operate in Gaza, the United States said on Wednesday at a World Court hearing in The Hague. Israel last year passed a law that banned UNRWA from operating in the country,

The United Nations criticized Israel for its ban on aid in hearings at the International Court of Justice. Israel did not send a legal delegation and rejected the proceedings as biased.

The top United Nations court on Monday will begin hearing from 40 countries on what Israel must do to provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.