Geneva, Switzerland - UN rights chief Volker Turk was "shocked and appalled" by comments by Israel's finance minister suggesting it might be "justified" to starve the population of Gaza to free hostages, his spokesperson said Friday.

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights "condemns these words in the strongest terms, which also incite hatred against innocent civilians," his spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told a press conference.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stoked controversy earlier this week, telling a conference: "No one in the world will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be justified and moral in order to free the hostages."

"We are bringing in humanitarian aid because we have no choice. We are in a situation that requires international legitimacy to conduct this war," Smotrich said.

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Turk's spokesperson told reporters that "the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime."

"This direct and public statement risks inciting other atrocity crimes. Such statements, especially by public officials, must cease immediately, they must be investigated and if found to amount to a crime, must be prosecuted and punished," Laurence said.

Israel has killed at least 39,699 people in Gaza since October, according to the territory's health ministry.

An Israeli blockade has also severely worsened the humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory, with almost all of its 2.4 million population displaced and suffering from extreme food shortages.

UN experts have declared that famine has spread throughout the entire Gaza Strip and denounced Israel for its "genocidal violence" against Palestinians.