Omar Shakir, Human Right Watch’s director for Israel and Palestine, said attacks by Israeli forces on people seeking aid in Gaza were part of a “decades-long pattern” of deadly abuses against Palestinians.

“Let’s start with the clear responsibility here of the Israeli government. They are starving the Palestinians of Gaza,” Shakir told Al Jazeera.

“They are using the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, which is a war crime,” Shakir said.

“They are creating catastrophic conditions that are leading to these sorts of situations. Moreover, the Israeli government has a long track record of using unlawful, excessive force against Palestinians. Not only in the context of air strikes but also in normal policing situations,” he said.

After being bombed, displaced multiple times, and starved, Palestinians are now shot and killed while seeking food supplies, Shakir added.

“The idea that people are being killed as they scavenge for meagre rations of food is just appalling”.