The United Nations condemned a new Israeli-supported humanitarian operation in southern Gaza on Wednesday, following a tumultuous launch the previous day when thousands of desperate Palestinians surged towards a food distribution site, prompting Israeli forces to discharge warning shots to disperse the crowd.
This incident intensified concerns about Israel’s recent effort to restructure aid delivery in Gaza, which Israeli officials describe as a means to bypass Hamas. The initiative has been rejected by the United Nations and numerous humanitarian organizations, and has also faced criticism from several Western governments allied with Israel.
The new Israeli-led program emerges amid growing global condemnation of Israel’s threats to initiate a fresh ground offensive against Hamas, following a two-month blockade that limited humanitarian aid access to Gaza until last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the upcoming military action will deliver a decisive blow to Hamas.
On Wednesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the body managing the Israeli initiative, reported that it had established two distribution centers and successfully delivered thousands of aid packages without incident. Nevertheless, European diplomats voiced further criticism of the program’s execution.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s chief diplomat, condemned the excessive use of force and civilian casualties, stating that such actions are unacceptable. She emphasized that humanitarian aid must remain free from political and military influence.
Under this newly implemented Israeli framework, four aid distribution points in southern Gaza are guarded by Israeli soldiers and supervised by private contractors from the United States. Previously, the United Nations was responsible for aid distribution in the region, but Israeli officials have sought to exclude the international body, accusing it of bias against Israel and failing to prevent Hamas from stockpiling supplies.
0 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!