The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued its sharpest warning yet about a new model for distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza, organized by an Israeli-backed structure, News.bg reports.
The organization said that using access to food for civilians as a means of pressure could constitute a war crime, reports "Reuters".
"Since the end of May, more than 410 people have been killed by gunfire or shells fired by Israeli forces while trying to reach aid distribution points run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," UN human rights spokesman Tamin al-Khitan told a briefing in Geneva. He said the death toll had been independently confirmed by the UN office.
"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza are being forced to choose between starving to death or risking being killed trying to get food," Khitan said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian mechanism".
According to the High Commissioner, the denial of access to food and essential services, as well as their use as a means of pressuring the civilian population, constitutes a war crime. In certain circumstances, this could also qualify as part of other international crimes.
When asked whether Israel's actions in Gaza constituted a war crime, the spokesman clarified that such a legal assessment could only be made by a competent court.
Israel categorically rejects the accusations, saying that the civilian casualties were the result of Hamas fighters using civilian infrastructure as cover - a claim that the Palestinian side denies.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains critical. International organizations warn that hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation and lack access to safe and sustainable supplies of food and water.