The Palestinian group has called for an independent international investigation into “systematic Israeli crimes” in Gaza, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders must be prosecuted, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, Hamas demanded an end to “suspicious military-run aid distribution centres” and called for the UN to be the sole “legitimate and neutral channels” for delivering humanitarian relief.

The UN Security Council and the international community must take urgent action to “stop the genocide and lift the siege” on Gaza, where famine looms, it said.

The statement comes as Israeli forces continue to open fire and kill hungry Palestinians while they try to collect food from the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s distribution centres.