Several United Nations agencies on Monday condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war, as malnutrition rates in Gaza spike.

During the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Secretary-General António Guterres stressed: “Hunger fuels instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war.” His statement comes in the wake of Israel’s decision to permit a one-week scale-up of humanitarian aid. UN agencies welcomed the humanitarian pauses and easing of aid restrictions; however, as emphasized by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher: “This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis.”

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) confirmed that one out of five children is currently malnourished in Gaza. The agency also claimed that the death toll from starvation has risen to over 100 as of July 28, urging: “Opening all the crossings and flooding Gaza with assistance is the only way to avert further deepening of starvation among the people of Gaza. What’s needed is at least 500/600 trucks of basics every day.” However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to insist: “There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza.”

Other UN agencies provided additional data on hunger and starvation being used as a weapon during the conflict in Gaza. The World Food Programme (WFP) finds that more than 320,000 children, constituting the entire population under five years old in the Gaza Strip, are at risk of acute malnutrition. Moreover, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s population, around 500,000 people, are enduring famine-like conditions. The food availability in Gaza is so scarce that even several UN staff members have reportedly collapsed out of hunger while performing their duties.

Under customary international humanitarian law, Additional Protocols I and II of the Geneva Conventions, and international criminal law, the use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is expressly prohibited.

To encourage the international community to adopt a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, the UN is currently holding a high-level conference. With several states participating, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that France is set to recognize the statehood of Palestine in September. The UK has also issued warnings that, should the ongoing Israeli actions in Gaza persist, it would consider recognizing the Palestinian state.