The US has imposed sanctions on an Israeli group it accuses of attacking humanitarian aid convoys headed to Gaza.

The State Department announced that US assets of Tzav 9, an organization linked to Israeli reservists and West Bank settlers, will be frozen, and Americans will be prohibited from engaging with it. For several months, Israeli activists have been obstructing aid convoys meant for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

On May 13, protesters were filmed attacking two trucks in the occupied West Bank, tearing open bags of grain. The vehicles were set on fire. The White House described the "looting" of aid convoys as "a total outrage."

At that time, Tzav 9 stated that some of the protesters' actions were "not in line with the values of our movement." However, it added that "blocking the trucks is an effective and practical step in which we shout that 'no aid passes until the last of the hostages returns'."

The State Department announced on Friday that US sanctions were being imposed under an executive order on West Bank violence signed by President Joe Biden in February. "For months, individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blocking roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including transiting the West Bank," the State Department said in a statement.

The US has previously sanctioned Jewish settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians as well as Palestinian militant groups. The Israel Defense Forces have also been accused of withholding aid, a charge they deny.

The UN has warned that over a million people in Gaza could face starvation by mid-July unless more aid is allowed into the Strip. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 37,000 people have been killed, and many hundreds of thousands more injured or displaced in Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

The war began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.