The United Nations has again called on Israel to lift its blockade of humanitarian aid delivery into the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reports.

“International law is unequivocal: as the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in. Aid, and the civilian lives it saves, should never be a bargaining chip,” Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement.

He said blocking aid starves civilians and leaves them without basic medical support, adding that it strips them of dignity and hope and “inflicts a cruel collective punishment. Blocking aid kills.

“The humanitarian movement is independent, impartial and neutral. We believe that all civilians are equally worthy of protection,” said Fletcher, underlining that they remain ready to save as many lives as they can, despite the risks.