GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Aug 22, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Hamas called on Friday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the lifting of the Israeli siege on the territory after the UN declared a famine in parts of Gaza.

In a statement published online, the group called for "immediate action by the UN and the security council to stop the war and lift the siege" and demanded that crossings be opened "without restrictions to allow the urgent and continuous entry of food, medicine, water and fuel".

The group went on to say that the declaration by the United Nations confirmed the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza and accused Israel of using starvation as a "tool of war".

"We in the Hamas movement emphasise the importance of this UN declaration, even though it comes far too late - after long months of warnings and suffering endured by our people under systematic siege and starvation," the group said.

"The international community and all its institutions bear an urgent legal and moral responsibility to stop the crimes against humanity and save more than two million people facing genocide, starvation and systematic destruction of all aspects of life."

Hamas's October 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 62,192 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.