A UN spokesperson said on Tuesday that the efforts of a U.S.-backed private humanitarian group distributing aid in Gaza distract from essential needs like opening crossing points.
The GHF, which began as an Israeli-initiated plan and has drawn criticism from the United Nations and others, said on Monday it began distributing supplies in Gaza.
This follows an Israeli blockade for 11 weeks that was only partially lifted in recent days and that prompted a famine warning from a global hunger monitor and international criticism.
“We do not participate in this modality for the reasons given. It is a distraction from what is actually needed (…),” Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA), told a Geneva briefing, calling for the reopening of all crossings.
He also called for an end to Israeli restrictions on the type of aid being allowed to enter the enclave, which he said was being “cherry-picked” and did not always match needs.
Israel Controls Gaza Aid
Israel is in charge of vetting all aid entering Gaza and regularly rejects a wide array of items it considers could be put to military use by the militant group Hamas.
It says the new system is aimed at separating aid from Hamas, which it accuses of stealing and using food to impose control over the population, a charge rejected by Hamas, which says it protects aid convoys from gangs of armed looters.
Juliette Touma, communications director of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency, said that it had large medical shipments waiting that have been denied entry into Gaza.
“We have over 3000 trucks, not only of food, but also medicines that are lining up in places like Jordan, like Egypt, that are waiting for the green light to go in, and they’re carrying medicines, and that is expiring soon,” she said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
