LONDON – Israel’s blocking of food aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza in an attempt to forcibly remove the population amounts to a war crime, the UN’s humanitarian chief said in an interview broadcast on Friday.

Israel allowed a trickle of supplies into Gaza last week after a complete blockade for nearly three months. But there have been chaotic and deadly scenes amid a new distribution system that sidelined the UN.

“We’re seeing food sat on the borders and not being allowed in when there is a population on the other side of the border that is starving, and we’re hearing Israeli ministers say that is to put pressure on the population of Gaza,” Tom Fletcher told the BBC.

Using food as a weapon “is classified as a war crime,” he said, adding that would be for the courts and history to judge.

He also warned Israel against the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to another country, a policy that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his hard-line cabinet have advocated.

Earlier this month, Israel’s extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Gaza would be “totally destroyed” within six months and Palestinians there would be so despairing that they would be “looking for relocation to begin a new life in other places.”

Fletcher called on Netanyahu to ensure that “this language, and ultimately, this policy … of forced displacement, isn’t enacted.”

Since Israel broke a two-month ceasefire in March it has ramped up its operations in Gaza, killing thousands more Palestinian civilians in an attempt to take full military control of the territory.

AN