UN condemns Israel’s use of food in Gaza as a weapon of war

The United Nations has strongly condemned the “weaponisation of food” in Gaza, warning that such actions by Israel’s military amount to a war crime.

“The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime,” the UN human rights office said in written remarks ahead of Tuesday’s briefing.

It also criticised Israel’s current aid delivery model, saying: “Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution.”

The UN urged Israeli forces to “stop shooting at people trying to get food”.