GAZA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Hamas on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks accusing the movement of controlling humanitarian aid in Gaza, considering it "justification for the crime of systematic starvation."

"They are also consistent with the policies of the occupation, which uses starvation as a weapon, in flagrant violation of international law and humanitarian norms," Hamas said in a press statement.

"It is not enough for Trump to ask (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to 'send some food,'" said the statement, urging the U.S. administration to "stop providing cover for Israel's starvation policy in the Gaza Strip, and to pressure it to halt its offensive and open the crossings, which have been closed for more than two months, to allow the entry of all essential life-saving materials."

Trump said during a White House news conference on Monday that the United States would help supply food to people in the Gaza Strip while blaming Hamas for the dire humanitarian situation there.

"We are going to help the people of Gaza get some food," Trump said. "People are starving, and we are going to help them get some food. A lot of people are making it very bad."

Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the expiration of the first phase of a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18, which have so far killed more than 2,500 Palestinians.

Israeli authorities were attempting to impose a new aid distribution system that would funnel humanitarian supplies through military-controlled hubs, rather than allowing UN agencies and NGOs to operate independently, according to a recent press release from the United Nations. ■