EU, France, UK slam Israel minister for Gaza starvation comment

JERUSALEM, Aug 8: The European Union, France and the UK on Wednesday condemned a far-right Israeli minister for suggesting it would be "justified and moral" to starve two million Gazans to free scores of captives held in the Palestinian territory.

"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".    —AFP