Israel weaponizing food, committing war crime in Gaza: Hamas

Hamas accused Israel on Thursday of using starvation as a “weapon of war” after Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted that Tel Aviv was blocking food and aid into the enclave to pressure the resistance group.

On Wednesday, Katz said that Israel's policy is to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza as “one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using it as a tool with the population.”

“Katz's statement is a renewed public acknowledgment that Israel is committing a war crime,” Hamas said in a statement.

These comments “confirm the use of starvation as a weapon to deprive innocent civilians of basic necessities for life, including food, medicine, water, and fuel,” it added.

Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza's crossings, blocking essential supplies from entering the enclave despite multiple reports of famine in the war-devastated territory.

On Wednesday, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for preventing the entry of “a gram of food or aid” into the blockaded Gaza Strip.

“It's unfortunate that these criminal statements have passed without a clear position from the international community, the United Nations, the UN Security Council, and international judicial bodies to condemn them and hold their perpetrators accountable," Hamas said.

It called for international action to stop the “crime of starvation and blockade” on Gaza and bring Israeli leaders to accountability for their “brutal crimes” against humanity.

More than 51,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.