UN on Gaza: Starving civilian population is war crime

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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned of a total collapse of vital support in the Gaza Strip and said Israel could be committing war crimes by starving civilians in the coastal strip.

“Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime, and so do all forms of collective punishment,” Türk said.

He called on the international community to take action against the humanitarian catastrophe.

Only courts can determine whether war crimes have been committed.

Israel has been blocking aid deliveries to Gaza since the beginning of March and bakeries are running out of flour and petrol to run their ovens, while hospitals have run out of medicines and materials to treat people's wounds.

Israel accuses the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas of appropriating aid supplies by force and selling them to the civilian population at high prices.

Israel said it would not allow any aid supplies until Hamas released all Israeli hostages. Some 24 hostages are still being held in the coastal area, as well as the bodies of 35 abductees, according to Israeli sources.