Israel once again blamed the United Nations on Wednesday for the lack of humanitarian aid being distributed inside the Gaza Strip - amid the organization's warnings that famine threatens hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister's Office spokesman David Mincer said in a press conference on Wednesday that UN agencies, including UNRWA, are responsible for the aid scarcity, and claimed that "non-UN relief agencies have been able to successfully provide aid."

He added: “Unfortunately, it is UNRWA and others, and the World Food Program as well, who spend their time simply perpetuating this conflict instead of pulling their fingers and actually doing the job they were designed to do. Stop blaming Israel.”

According to the Washington Post, these statements come as part of a series of attacks on the United Nations and its Secretary-General by Israeli officials in recent weeks. “We have to stop this aura surrounding the United Nations as a force for good,” Mincer added. “Unfortunately, in many cases, they are not a force for good.”

Relief organizations say that distributing aid in Gaza has become more dangerous and difficult amid the Israeli war on Gaza, especially in the south, a shortage of vehicles and fuel, and an increase in attacks on aid trucks by desperate civilians. The United Nations has consistently accused Israel of obstructing deliveries through arduous inspections and restrictions, as well as a lack of coordination with its agencies.

The World Food Program on Tuesday endorsed the findings of the latest IPC analysis, which said “the risk of famine is high as long as conflict continues and humanitarian access remains restricted.”

The IPC analysis concluded that about 500,000 Palestinians are on the brink of famine. The World Food Program said that the IPC results are consistent with its concerns “about the continuing levels of extreme hunger throughout the Gaza Strip.”

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a press conference on Tuesday that the situation had become “increasingly unbearable.” He added that more than 200 humanitarian workers have been killed since the outbreak of the war, and that humanitarian operations “have repeatedly been in the crosshairs in Gaza.”

Mincer noted at the press conference on Wednesday, without providing evidence, that “many of the aid workers killed were working with armed groups in Gaza.”

Israel has repeatedly stressed that it allows hundreds of trucks to enter southern Gaza every day.

As The Washington Post previously reported, the United Nations has informed Israel that it may not be able to continue its role as a major aid provider inside Gaza if the security situation for humanitarian workers does not improve.

Dujarric said on Tuesday that the United Nations continues to provide aid where and when it can, and when asked, he did not directly address an Associated Press report that senior UN officials told Israel that UN agencies would suspend operations if Israel did not do more to... that.

“I am not talking about suspending operations,” Dujarric said. “The way forward is not a mystery, it is on the table, it is a humanitarian ceasefire. As well as the free and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip. And also the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.”