Israel denies causing ‘famine’ in Gaza, blames Hamas

The Israeli government has said it is not responsible for the chronic shortage of food in Gaza, instead accused Hamas of deliberately creating a crisis. “In Gaza today there is no famine caused by Israel,” government spokesman David Mencer said, after more than 100 aid and rights groups warned of “mass starvation” and urged Israel to unblock aid. “There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas,” he claimed, accusing the militants of preventing food from being distributed and looting aid.