A vast crowd of people queue for aid at the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus
Starvation tactics against civilians are being used as a weapon of war by the Syrian government, Amnesty International says.
The rights group says at least 128 refugees have died at the besieged Yarmouk camp in Damascus as a result.
It says thousands of people still trapped there face a "catastrophic humanitarian crisis".
Amnesty says families have been forced to forage for food in the streets - risking being killed by snipers.
There were reports of fresh fighting on the edge of the camp earlier this week.
Yarmouk camp, which is estimated to house around 17,000-20,000 Palestinian and Syrian refugees, has seen some of the worst fighting in the capital.
It has been without electricity since April 2013 and most of the hospitals have closed after running out of even the most basic medical supplies.
"Syrian forces are committing war crimes by using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war," says Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East director.
"The harrowing accounts of families having to resort to eating cats and dogs, and civilians attacked by snipers as they forage for food, have become all too familiar details of the horror story that has materialised in Yarmouk."
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