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United Nations: United Nations’ top humanitarian officer Tom Fletcher on Tuesday accused Israel of ‘intentionally and shamelessly’ imposing inhumane conditions in Gaza. He said that Israel’s actions have increased the risk of starvation in Gaza. This is the strongest statement by a high-level UN official during the Gaza war. Fletcher, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council that Israel has stopped all humanitarian aid in Gaza ( Gaza’) for the last 10 weeks.
Israel completely rejected the allegations
Fletcher said immediate action is needed to stop this ‘genocide’. Israel, in response, rejected these allegations outright and said that it would not accept any aid system that supports the ‘Hamas terrorist organization’. Fletcher said, ‘We should think about what we will answer to the coming generations, when they will ask what we did to prevent this terrible tragedy of the 21st century in Gaza.’ Fletcher has demanded immediate action from the Security Council, so that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza can be stopped.
‘Grain is lying in warehouses just 40 km away’
UN World Food Program’s Gaza director Antoine Renard said that one-fourth of Gaza’s population is on the verge of starvation. Antoine Renard said that the food required to feed the entire population of Gaza is lying in the warehouses of Israel, Egypt and Jordan, which is just 40 kilometers away from Gaza. But due to Israel’s ban, this food is not reaching Gaza. Renard said that their warehouses are empty. Where they were providing food to 1 million people in April, now they are able to provide food to only 2.5 lakh people. He warned that soon people will not be able to get even one meal a day.
‘… then starvation can start in Gaza’
Food security experts said on Monday that if Israel does not lift the ban on aid and stop the military operation, then starvation can start in Gaza. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, about 5 lakh people in Gaza are facing dire starvation, and 1 million others are barely able to get food. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take all possible steps to prevent death, destruction and genocide in Gaza.
‘Hamas is not responsible for the situation in Gaza’
A new US-backed organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has proposed a new aid distribution system in line with Israel’s plan, but the UN and other aid groups rejected it. Fletcher called it a ‘crazy spectacle’ and ‘an excuse for violence and displacement’. US State Department spokesman Tommy Piggot said that the US supports ‘creative solutions’ to deliver aid to Gaza, but wants to ensure that the aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas. However, aid officials say that Hamas is not responsible for the situation in Gaza.
