The body of one of the aid workers killed by Israel is transported out of a hospital morgue in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 3, 2024. (AFP)

Beirut, April 5 (RHC)-- Hamas says Israel targets aid distribution sites to terrorize humanitarian organizations in the Gaza Strip.  The Palestinian resistance movement said in a statement on Wednesday, “We call on the international community and the UN Security Council to denounce this heinous act.”

Hamas also urged the international community to “move towards putting an end to the occupation’s crimes and aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip.”

A group of U.S. humanitarian experts says famine has already strained parts of the Gaza Strip and the pace of hunger-related deaths will “accelerate in the weeks ahead.”  The group underscored the need for an “immediate and substantial flow of food, health, nutrition and [sanitation] assistance.”

It said “expanded humanitarian access and safe unimpeded passage for humanitarian workers is paramount to addressing famine conditions in Gaza.”

The European Union condemns as “appalling” Israel’s latest killing of seven aid workers who were delivering food to the starving population in the Gaza Strip.   The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said Israel continues to block its aid workers from bringing food and other aid into northern Gaza.

The amount of aid entering the besieged Palestinian territory as a whole has remained low with an average of 161 aid trucks reaching the territory per day throughout March, well below the target of 500, according to UNRWA.

Israel stands accused of using starvation of Palestinians as a method of warfare.   The UN agency also said three more UNRWA members have been killed in Gaza since October. The latest figure brought the total number of UNRWA’s staff killed since October to 176.

On Monday, Israeli forces attacked a convoy of international aid workers with the World Central Kitchen (WCK), killing seven aid workers. The attack drew international condemnations and mounted calls for an urgent investigation.

At least 196 humanitarian aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the regime started its savage campaign in October 2023.