The UN human rights office has said that the "weaponisation" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by a US- and Israeli-backed organisation.
"Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution," the office said in written notes provided before a briefing.
"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food."
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid near a distribution site in the centre of the Palestinian territory this morning.
The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on 26 May after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine.
The UN said in May that "100% of the population" of the besieged territory were " at risk of famine".
The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF - an officially private effort with opaque funding - over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned in the briefing notes of "scenes of chaos around the food distribution points" of the GHF.
Since the organisation began operating, "the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities", he said.
He pointed to reports that "over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organisations".
"At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents," he said.
"Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account."
Mr Kheetan cautioned that the system "endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza".
"The weaponisation of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law," he warned.
The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation.
"The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food," Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel "allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza".
"It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors," he said.
And he called on other countries to "take concrete steps to ensure that Israel -- the occupying power in Gaza -- complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population."
