In a speech this week, the Israeli finance minister said “no one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages”.

“Bringing in humanitarian aid because we have no choice. We are in a situation that requires international legitimacy to conduct this war,” The Guardian quoted hin as saying.

Israel is accused of genocide and has argued that the war in Gaza is a legitimate defensive action against Hamas militants for their October 7 attack in southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and in which 250 hostages were taken.

Reacting to Bezalel Smotrich's remarks, the EU said the deliberate starvation of civilians was a “war crime” and that it expected the Israeli government to “unequivocally distance itself” from the words of the finance minister.

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France, meanwhile, said that providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza is an “obligation under international humanitarian law” for Israel as it controls all access to the territory.

The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, called on “the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn” the remarks.

The US state department said Israel must fully investigate allegations of sexual abuse against Palestinian detainees by its soldiers.

South Africa brought a case to the International Court of Justice late last year, accusing Israel of violating the genocide convention through its military operations in Gaza.