Among the terrible lessons of October 7, 2023 was that it became perfectly clear Hamas is willing to sacrifice the Palestinian people in its war to destroy Israel and the Jewish people. Israel must not help Hamas by sacrificing its own morality.

Hamas continues to bear the greatest responsibility for the suffering of its own people, most particularly by using its citizens as human shields. American and Israeli officials have accused Hamas of confiscating desperately needed humanitarian food and supplies for its fighters while civilians starve. Hamas’s cruelty in that regard — among many others — knows no bounds, but condemnation from the international community is rare. Nonetheless, Hamas’s actions do not excuse Israel’s policy of cutting off humanitarian aid to innocent civilians in Gaza.

A just war, such as Israel’s efforts to prevent Hamas from attacking it again and curtailing its governance in Gaza, must be fought with just means that align with both international humanitarian law and the values of Jewish rules of war. Even in biblical times, the admonition to refrain from using the horrors of starvation as a tool of war was clear. Deuteronomy 20:19 teaches us: “When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down.”

For the past two months, Israel has banned food and supplies from entering Gaza. This is the longest complete blockade it has ever imposed. Just days ago, the Israeli cabinet voted to create designated zones in southern Gaza for food distribution to be administered by US security contractors. This plan, which would entail shutting down most of the existing humanitarian aid sites and soup kitchens, is terribly flawed. There is no time frame by which the new food distribution centres would be up and running, and it is not at all certain that the new sites would provide enough aid to alleviate the suffering. In contrast, during the most recent ceasefire, Israel significantly increased the amount of food aid to Gaza, easing widespread hunger.

Starving Gazan civilians neither will bring Israel the “total victory” over Hamas it seeks, nor can be justified by Jewish values or humanitarian law. Will this policy bring home the 59 remaining hostages, including the 24 who are still alive? It is unlikely — and contrary to the wishes of almost 70 per cent of Israelis who, in a recent poll, prioritised the hostages’ return over that elusive “total victory”. Of equal concern, far-right Israeli politicians see the aid blockade as part of a broader plan to permanently push most Gazans from northern Gaza and replace them with Jewish settlements.

As a proud Zionist who continues to feel deep solidarity with the people of Israel, including those who wear the Israel Defence Forces uniform, and as I have said on numerous occasions since October 8, 2023, I cannot be silent in the face of the immense suffering of civilians in Gaza, including hundreds of thousands of children. Hamas is willing to sacrifice thousands of Palestinians by hoarding humanitarian aid; Israel must not. Depriving Gazans of food and water will not make Israel safer or hasten the return of the hostages. Each of us who loves Israel must say so — and urge Israel to change this policy.

• Rick Jacobs is a rabbi and the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest denomination of Judaism in North America