Netanyahu backs ministers calling to starve Gaza as UN warns of war crimes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come to the defence of extremist ministers in his government who called for a continued blockade on aid to Gaza, even as UN agencies report an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave.

During a late-night security cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu brushed off concerns raised by Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi, who had warned that starvation as a tactic of war could constitute a serious violation of international law.

Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Orit Strook had claimed that there was "no need to bring aid into Gaza" and that "they have enough", prompting Halevi to respond sharply: "You are putting all of us at risk. There is international law, and we are bound by it. We cannot starve the population."

Netanyahu reportedly defended the ministers rather than challenging the dangerous implications of their remarks, saying they had a "right" to "express their opinions", adding that if a minister's comments had conflicted with the law, it was the Attorney General's role to clarify the legal position.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara reiterated that Israel remains committed to international law, even as aid agencies report otherwise.

In the same meeting, the cabinet approved an expansion of military operations in Gaza and gave preliminary backing to a future mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid via foreign companies - a move framed by officials as part of a pressure strategy on Hamas to release Israeli captives.

But the UN has rejected this proposal outright. Speaking from Gaza City on Saturday, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson Olga Cherevko described the situation as "running on empty".

She said that since March, when Israel sealed all entry points into Gaza for cargo, "food stocks have now mainly run out, water access has become impossible", and children were being deprived of their childhood as they rummaged through trash for scraps of food or fuel.

In harrowing testimony, Cherevko described how a friend witnessed people burning alive from explosions because there was no water to extinguish the flames. Outside her location, she added, a water truck was being attacked by desperate people "throwing rocks and firing shots" in a violent scramble for survival.

"This is a generational horror," she said. "I worry that five, ten, twenty years from now, we will look at our children and grandchildren in shame and we will not be able to explain why we could not stop this."

Hospitals, she said, have run out of blood and essential supplies, while cases of child malnutrition are rising steeply. Patient Friends Hospital, a paediatric facility repeatedly hit during the war, reports that children are arriving daily with signs of severe undernourishment.

The Israeli proposal to control aid deliveries through military checkpoints would force civilians into combat zones to collect food, potentially putting them and aid workers at risk, the UN warned. Vulnerable groups, including disabled, elderly, and injured people, may be unable to access supplies, increasing displacement and mortality.

UN rights chief Volker Türk added a stark warning on Friday, stating: "Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime." He also denounced Israel's plan to declare Rafah a so-called "humanitarian zone" as deeply flawed.

"This will almost certainly mean many will be left without food, especially those who cannot easily move," Türk said.

The Gaza death toll continues to mount. According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, between 18 March and 27 April, Israeli strikes targeted 259 residential buildings and 99 IDP tent sites - including 40 attacks in the Al-Mawasi zone where civilians had been instructed to shelter. Almost all strikes resulted in fatalities, including women and children.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher urged Israel to act: "Lift this brutal blockade. Let humanitarians save lives."