A UN humanitarian office spokesperson has called for Israel to revoke a decision barring food deliveries to northern Gaza from the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), saying people there were facing a “cruel death by famine”, Reuters reports.

“The decision must be revoked,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told a UN briefing. “You cannot claim to adhere to these international provisions of law when you block UNRWA food convoys.”