UN blasts U.S.-run Gaza food aid plan as recipe for disaster

The new aid scheme for Gazans run by the United States and supported by Israel is a recipe for disaster, said a UN spokesman on Tuesday.

Scores of deaths have been reported in the last three days among Gazans thronging for food at the few new, militarized aid distribution points under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Israel has approved the U.S.-run GHF, which has set up fortified sites to distribute food aid to starving Gazans who have to travel, frequently through militarized zones or areas ordered evacuated, to reach the few points.

The system of funneling people between barbed wires, forcing them to walk to get the food, with armed contractors whose accountability remains unknown is a recipe for disaster, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"The secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza. It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food."

Guterres continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held accountable, he said. 

"The basic needs of the population in Gaza are enormous and are not being met," the spokesman said. "Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief for all civilians who need it."

The UN Security Council is also set to vote on Wednesday on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where aid has trickled amid chaos and bloodshed after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on the enclave where famine looms.

The draft text, seen by Reuters, also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza.

"The time to act has already passed," Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told Reuters. "It is our historical responsibility not to remain silent."

The GHF started operations a week ago, and said it has given out more than 7 million meals from three distribution sites.

It has said it will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites. 

The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and the distribution model militarizes aid. GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get aid to the distribution sites. 

'A drop in the ocean'

While the UN and its humanitarian partners have been allowed to bring aid into Gaza following an 80-day blockade, they have been challenged by the bottleneck at the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing, their only aid entry point to Gaza.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said what is being allowed into Gaza does not meet the immense needs on the ground, describing the amount of aid reaching Gazans as "a drop in the ocean." 

"We have enough supplies lined up and ready, close to Gaza," the office said. "But only limited amounts are reaching the people who need them, and that's because of conditions on the ground."

OCHA said that since May 17, only half of the pre-cleared supplies submitted for a second and final Israeli clearance have made it through to the Palestinian side. 

The office said its teams managed to collect only approximately 370 truckloads from the Palestinian side of the crossing and bring them closer to where people need them in Gaza. The supplies include flour, medical supplies and nutrition items. While the Israeli authorities tightly control access to both sides of the crossing, any movement inside Gaza requires driving through militarized zones where bombing continues.

The office said the coordination Israel requires of humanitarian movements across the strip is frequently denied. As an example, 10 of 13 attempts to coordinate such movements were rejected on Monday. The rejection list included the collection of supplies from the sole crossing and other life-saving operations such as trucking water to North Gaza or relocating fuel stocks.

All these restrictions have been taking a toll on civilians.

OCHA said there is a sharp rise in child labor, early marriage and family separation, all driven by hunger, displacement and economic turmoil.

(With input from agencies)