The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday that the restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip may constitute a war crime.

UNHCR spokesperson Jeremy Lawrence said, "The continued Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza, in addition to the manner in which hostilities continue, may amount to the use of starvation as a means of war."

He stressed that this "constitutes a war crime."

Earlier today, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that “all residents of Gaza suffer from severe levels of food insecurity,” stressing the “priority” of delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged Strip.

This came in a press conference, held by Blinken with Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo, in the capital, Manila, and he added that “100% of the population of Gaza faces a severe level of food insecurity.”

He explained that this is "the first time that an entire people has been classified in this way," referring to a UN report issued yesterday, Monday.

Blinken said that the UN report confirms “the priority of delivering aid to Gaza.”

The “Integrated Food Security Phase Classification” report, prepared by United Nations institutions, stated that “all Gazans face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.”

The report indicated that "half of the population (about 1.1 million people in Gaza) have completely exhausted their food supplies and their ability to adapt," explaining that they are "suffering from catastrophic hunger (the 5th and final stage of the classification) and starvation."