US rejects UN claim that Gaza aid restrictions amount to a war crime

The United States rejects the assessment made by the United Nations human rights chief that Israeli restrictions on aid entering Gaza may amount to a war crime.

“That is not something that we’ve observed or witnessed,” US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel says during a press briefing.

“We’re seeing aid and food… enter Gaza,” Patel says, while clarifying that the amount of aid is still insufficient, not entering fast enough and not getting to all the places it needs to go.

Earlier today, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said, “The extent of Israel’s continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.”

Patel reiterates that the US is “deeply concerned” by a UN-backed report yesterday saying famine is likely by May without an end to fighting in the more than five-month war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people.

Asked about UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini’s claim that Israel blocked his entry into Gaza yesterday, Patel declines to comment on the specific allegation, but says that the US as a general policy urges Israel to allow UN officials to work in Gaza.