"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," Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at a conference earlier this week.

"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's remarks sparked outrage in the international community, with the European Union saying the deliberate starvation of civilians was a "war crime".

"It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity," the EU said in a statement.

"We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich," the EU said, as it called for access to cover the humanitarian needs of Palestinians in Gaza, including hundreds of thousands of children.

The EU reiterated its call for an "immediate ceasefire" to secure the release of all captives and also to increase the distribution of aid across the Gaza Strip.

UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said on X that there "can be no justification for Minister Smotrich's remarks", and called on "the wider Israeli government to retract and condemn them".

France also criticized Smotrich, expressing its "deep dismay at the scandalous remarks".

Providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is an "obligation under international humanitarian law" for Israel as it controls all access to the territory, it added.

Since Israel's war on Gaza began in October, Israel has imposed a deadly blockade on most food, medicine, and fuel in Gaza allowing only a trickle of aid into the besieged Palestinian territory.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with almost all of its 2.4 million population displaced and many of them living under "famine-like conditions."

UNICEF estimates that 1 million Palestinian children in Gaza face starvation due to the Israeli siege.

That says something in Gaza where Israel's relentless bombardment and ground invasion have killed at least 39,677 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

An analysis published by The Lancet medical journal, says that the actual Palestinian death toll in Gaza could exceed 186,000 people.

Meanwhile, more than 91,645 Palestinians have been wounded since the war began in October. Gaza officials say that thousands more are presumed dead or missing under the rubble.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.