THE VATICAN, June 30. /TASS/. The use of hunger as a method of warfare is inhumane and cannot be tolerated, Pope Leo XIV said in a message to the 44th session of the Conference of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at its headquarters in Rome.

"We are now witnessing, with deep sorrow, the inhumane use of hunger as a weapon of war. Starving civilian populations is a very cheap way to wage war," the Pope said.

Water supply networks and communications are targeted in attacks by warmongers, who should be punished for such actions, the pontiff noted. "We must therefore set aside futile rhetoric and iron out differences with firm political will, as Pope Francis would say, to finally create an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual trust and achieve common goals," Pope Leo XIV stressed.

He called famine "the greatest scandal of our time." "The key to defeating hunger lies in sharing, not greedily hoarding for oneself. And this is what we have probably forgotten today - though some important steps have been taken, global food security is deteriorating and the scenario of achieving the goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 seems increasingly unlikely," the pontiff said.

The FAO Conference is the supreme collegial governing body of the organization. Its purpose is to determine policy and approve the budget and programs of the agency. Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin represents the Russian side at the FAO Conference.

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has been assessed as catastrophic since tensions flared up in the Middle East and Israel began its military operation in the enclave. Humanitarian access to the enclave has been severely hampered.