Fuel Exports Risk ‘Complicity in Genocide,’ Legal Experts Warn Suppliers After ICJ Ruling
WASHINGTON D.C: Twenty-five countries supplied Israel with massive quantities of crude oil and refined petroleum products throughout the two-year period of its military operations in Gaza, according to a new report from Oil Change International. The findings have prompted legal experts to issue stark warnings that these states risk complicity in genocide, particularly after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an interim order to prevent the crime.
The updated report tracked a total of 323 shipments carrying nearly 21.2 million tonnes of crude oil and refined products to Israel between November 1, 2023, and October 1, 2025.
The analysis revealed that 171 of these shipments—carrying 17.9 million tonnes of crude oil—were heavily dominated by two Central Asian nations: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, which together accounted for 70 percent of the crude supply.
Azeri Crude is routed through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, terminating in Ceyhan, Turkey. The report noted that while Turkey is listed as the country of origin due to the final loading port, the crude is identified as “Azeri BTC.”
Kazakh Crude is exported via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) to the Russian Black Sea coast near Novorossiysk, resulting in these shipments being listed as originating in Russia.
In the market for refined petroleum products, which accounted for 152 shipments totaling nearly 3.3 million tonnes, Russia was the single largest supplier, responsible for 45 percent of the shipments. Shipments were also tracked from the African continent and four from Brazil, though Brazil’s National Federation of Oil Workers alleges its crude may be redirected to foreign refineries, such as the Sarroch refinery in Sardinia, Italy, which has seen a surge in refined product exports to Israel.
A key finding of the report centered on the specific military application of the fuels. The United States sent nine shipments carrying 360,000 tonnes of JP-8, a military-grade jet fuel blend used for Israeli military aircraft. These shipments, along with two of diesel, originated from Valero’s Bill Greehey Refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Furthermore, the UN’s Independent International Commission issued a call in September 2025 for member states to “cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items, including jet fuel, to the State of Israel” where there is reason to suspect their use in operations that involve the commission of genocide.
Dr. Irene Pietropaoli, who published a legal opinion on the obligations of third states regarding the prevention of genocide, stated that governments must now carefully consider their actions.
“States must consider that their military or other assistance to Israel’s military operations in Gaza may put them at a risk of being complicit in genocide under the Genocide Convention,” Dr. Pietropaoli said in a statement.
The legal opinion directly questions whether the continued fuel exports contravene states’ fundamental obligation to comply with the ICJ’s interim order, which requires signatories to the Genocide Convention “to prevent and to punish genocide.” The report underscores the legal and moral risks assumed by the 25 states that continued the flow of fossil fuels to Israel during the conflict.