Geneva, Switzerland - The UN warned Tuesday that Israel's severe restrictions on aid into Gaza coupled with its ongoing attacks could amount to using starvation as a "weapon of war" against Palestinians.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk decried the rampant hunger and looming famine in Gaza.

"The situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel's extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure," he said in a statement.

"The extent of Israel's continued restrictions on the 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."

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His spokesperson, Jeremy Laurence, told reporters in Geneva that the final determination of whether "starvation is being used as a weapon of war" would be determined by a court of law.

"The suffering of the people of Gaza is unconscionable," he said.

The comments came after a UN-backed assessment determined that the devastation wrought by Israel since Hamas's October 7 attack has left roughly half of Gazans – around 1.1 million people – experiencing "catastrophic" hunger.

Without a surge of aid, famine would hit the 300,000 people in Gaza's war-battered north by May, it said Monday.

Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva his agency feared that without action, "you're looking at more than 200 people dying from starvation per day".

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Turk also stressed that "the clock is ticking".

"Everyone, especially those with influence, must insist that Israel acts to facilitate the unimpeded entry and distribution of needed humanitarian assistance and commercial goods to end starvation and avert all risk of famine."

He lamented that "the alarm bells sounded over the past months by the UN, including my Office, have not been heeded".

"This catastrophe is human-made and was entirely preventable."

Israel has already killed more than 31,800 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, and is facing accusations of genocide.