GENEVA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Tuesday condemned the deadly attacks on civilians in Gaza as they attempted to access food assistance, describing the assaults as "unconscionable."

Turk said in a statement that for the third consecutive day, civilians had been killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an organization supported by the United States and Israel.

"This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured," he said.

"Palestinians have been presented the grimmest of choices: die from starvation or risk being killed while trying to access the meagre food that is being made available through Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism," Turk said.

Such a system endangers lives and violates international standards on aid distribution, as the United Nations has repeatedly warned, he added.

Turk called for prompt investigations into each of these attacks and urged that those responsible be held to account.

He stressed that attacks targeting civilians constitute serious breaches of international law and amount to war crimes. He further noted that the deliberate obstruction of access to food and other essential relief supplies may also constitute a war crime.

According to Gaza-based health authorities, at least 24 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured early Tuesday by Israeli army fire while waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Residents said the incident took place near the Al-Alam roundabout in western Rafah, where large crowds had gathered to receive aid amid ongoing hostilities and a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the event occurred during the movement of the crowd along designated routes toward the aid distribution site, approximately 500 meters from the location. The IDF further said troops identified several suspects approaching them, deviating from the designated access routes. ■