The humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has imposed a two-month aid blockade, is dire, with food security experts saying starvation is looming for one in five people.
“While the UN spreads panic and makes declarations detached from reality, the state of Israel is steadily facilitating the entry of aid into Gaza,” Israel’s United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon told the Security Council.
He said the assistance was entering by trucks – under limited authorisation by Israel at the Kerem Shalom crossing since last week following the blockade – and via a “new distribution mechanism developed in coordination with the US and key international partners.”
Danon was referring to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private, US-backed aid group that has established its own distribution system, one the United Nations considers contrary to its humanitarian principles.
A chaotic distribution of aid at a GHF centre on Tuesday left 47 people wounded.
Israel’s ambassador blamed Hamas for the tumult, saying the Palestinian group set up roadblocks and checkpoints to block access to the distribution centre.
He accused the UN of “trying to block” the aid.
The United Nations “is using threats, intimidation and retaliation against NGOs that choose to participate in the new humanitarian mechanism,” Danon added.
Danon specifically accused the United Nations of having removed these nongovernmental organisations from a database listing groups working in Gaza, an accusation rejected by the UN.
“There are no differences between the current list and the one from before the launch of the GHF,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
But the UN reiterated its opposition to coordinating with GHF.
“We will not participate in operations that do not meet our humanitarian principles,” insisted Dujarric.
Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed at least 54,804 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there.
Israel launched its operations in response to the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, which killed over 1,200 people. (AFP)
