New Delhi, Sept. 8 -- In a highly rare exercise of wartime legal restraint, Israel's Supreme Court ruled Sunday that the Israeli government has deprived Palestinian detainees of even a minimum subsistence diet and ordered authorities to increase the amount and improve the quality of food served to deprived Palestinian inmates.

Although it's the job of the Supreme Court to advise the government of the legality of its policies, the Israeli judiciary has seldom taken issue with its actions in the 23-month Israel-Hamas war.

Since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, Israel has largely rejected growing international criticism of its conduct by arguing that it was doing what was necessary ...