Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, has issued a stern warning that deliberately starving civilians is a “war crime” and Israel’s government must “distance itself” from comments by far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on social media and in a statement, Borrell described as “beyond ignominious” a recent public statement by Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich in which he said causing “2 million civilians to die of hunger” could be “justified and moral” until Israeli captives held in Gaza are released.

“It demonstrates, once again, his contempt for international law and for basic principles of humanity,” Borrell said of the ultra-nationalist Smotrich.

“We expect the Israeli government to unequivocally distance itself from the words of Minister Smotrich, as well as to establish transparency on the reported acts of torture in the Sde Teiman prison,” he said.

Germany and France also condemned the minister’s comments separately, and the UN and US have called for Israel to fully investigate allegations of abuse and torture of Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers at its prisons, including sexual abuse.