By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Israel on Friday blasted the United Nations aid chief for asking the U.N. Security Council if it would act to "prevent genocide" in the Gaza Strip, where experts say famine looms after Israel blocked aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave 75 days ago.

While briefing the 15-member body earlier this week, U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher said: "Will you act – decisively – to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?"

In a letter to Fletcher on Friday, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon accused him of delivering "a political sermon" and weaponizing the word genocide against Israel, questioning under what authority he made what Israel viewed as an accusation.

"You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior U.N. official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate, or restraint," he wrote. "It was an utterly inappropriate and deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality."

Under international law, genocide is an intent to destroy, in whole or part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. This includes through killings, serious bodily or mental harm and inflicting conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction.

'LET US DO OUR WORK'

In a letter to Danon on Friday, Fletcher responded: "I fervently believe in the U.N. Charter, and in our obligation to act with humanity, independence, impartiality and neutrality. And of course, honesty about what we observe, and are mandated to report."

The war in Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies, and has blocked all aid to Gaza since March 2, demanding Hamas release all remaining hostages. A global hunger monitor warned on Monday that half a million people face starvation - about a quarter of the population in the enclave.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that "a lot of people are starving in Gaza."

Fletcher appealed to Israel to lift the aid block, telling Danon there are 9,000 trucks - half of them carrying food - which had all been cleared by COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, and were ready to enter Gaza.

"We have solid plans to distribute to civilians, with verification measures to ensure that aid does not get stolen by Hamas. We showed during the ceasefire that we can deliver at scale," he wrote. "Please let us do our work."

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman and Diane Craft)