UN relief chief: ‘Let’s not waste time’ with US-backed Gaza aid plan
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s top humanitarian official, has issued a statement again rejecting a US-Israeli-backed plan to seize control of food distribution in Gaza as an alternative to Israel’s 76-day blockade.
“To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let’s not waste time: We already have a plan,” Fletcher said, adding that 160,000 pallets of aid are “ready to move” into Gaza, “now”.
Fletcher said the UN’s plan is “rooted in the non-negotiable principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence” and is backed by the “vast majority of the international community”.
“It is ready to be activated – today – if we are simply allowed to do our jobs,” he said.
“We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need,” he added. “Let us work.”
Israel’s UN envoy slams UN aid chief for ‘desecration’ of genocide term
As we previously reported, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher told the UN Security Council that Israel is “unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians” and called on the body to “prevent genocide” in Gaza.
In a letter to Fletcher, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said he is “deeply shocked and disturbed” by the speech, which he called a “deeply irresponsible statement that shattered any notion of neutrality”.
“You had the audacity, in your capacity as a senior UN official, to stand before the Security Council and invoke the charge of genocide without evidence, mandate, or restraint,” Danon wrote.
“To weaponise the word ‘genocide’ against Israel is not just distortion – it is the desecration and subversion of a term with unique force and weight,” he added.
Danny Danon needs to be brought before the ICC as well.
