Hamas has slammed Israel’s ongoing blockade of Gaza, now in its 50th day, warning it is pushing more than two million residents towards famine and a deepening health disaster, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” the group said in a statement, citing severe shortages of food, water, fuel, medicine and even children’s vaccines.

It added that the siege, which has also seen daily attacks on shelters, hospitals and residential areas, amounts to a “war crime” and a “premeditated crime” by the Israeli leadership.

Hamas accused the international community of “political, moral, and humanitarian failure” and called on the United Nations and others to pressure Israel to lift the blockade and allow aid into the territory.

The group also urged Arab and Muslim countries, along with global activists, to “break the siege” and support Gaza’s resistance against Israel’s “fascist plans”.