Geneva (AFP) – The United Nations on Tuesday condemned what it said was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime, urging its military to "stop shooting at people trying to get food".
The head of the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees also called a new US- and Israel-backed food-distribution system in the Gaza Strip an "abomination".
"Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution," said UN human rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan.
"The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime."
He stressed that only a court could make a legal determination on whether war crimes have been committed.
Kheetan noted "scenes of chaos around the food distribution points" of the GHF.
"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he told reporters in Geneva.
Since the GHF began operating, "the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities", he said.
Kheetan pointed to reports that "over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organisations".
He said those figures came from the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and from other sources, including NGOs.
Kheetan said the UN human rights office was in the process of verifying the figures -- and in both cases, further people may have been killed from other sources of fire -- something his office cannot confirm.
"At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents," he added.
"Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account."
Kheetan cautioned that the system "endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza".
The UN said in May that "100 percent of the population" of the besieged territory were "at risk of famine".
"Humanitarian assistance must never be used as a bargaining chip in any conflict," he said.
The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation.
"The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food," said Kheetan.
Meanwhile Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, slammed GHF as "an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people".
"It is a death trap costing more lives than it saves," he told a press conference in Berlin.
Lazzarini called for UNRWA to regain access to the Palestinian territory and restart its aid efforts.
"The humanitarian community, including UNRWA, has the expertise and must be allowed to do their job and provide assistance with respect and dignity," he said.
"There is no other alternative to address the challenges of spreading hunger in the Gaza Strip."
GHF said Monday it had distributed roughly 680,000 food boxes so far.
"GHF workers continue to provide meals safely and securely," said the foundation's interim chief John Acree, adding: "Our system is working, and we will press on."