Gaza city: Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that the Israeli occupation army's targeting of Palestinians searching for food in the Gaza Strip constitutes a war crime.

According to Qatar News Agency, in a report released Friday, HRW said that the military system adopted by the occupation to distribute aid in the Strip is fundamentally flawed and has led to bloodbaths rather than meeting humanitarian needs.

The report affirmed that the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza is a direct result of Israel's use of starvation as a weapon of war. It warned that the continued denial of aid to civilians could amount to a crime against humanity and represent a form of genocide.

The organization called on the international community to exert immediate pressure on Israeli authorities to halt the use of lethal force against civilians at aid distribution centers and to lift restrictions on the entry of humanitarian assistance.

Human Rights Watch also urged the United States and Israeli authorities to suspend the current aid distribution system and allow the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to resume large-scale, unrestricted distribution operations.

These entities, the report noted, are best equipped to deliver aid in accordance with humanitarian standards and in compliance with binding orders issued by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel.