‘No alternative’ to veteran aid agencies leading operations in Gaza
Lex Takkenberg, who for decades was UNRWA’s general counsel, says Israel’s plan to take over aid distribution in Gaza will not work.
Eventually, it will be forced to allow the resumption of the “UN-led aid system”, which has been tested over decades, Takkenberg told Al Jazeera. These agencies have “resources at the border” and are “ready to move in”, he added.
“There is simply no alternative. It will not work. The UN declined to cooperate, and the Gulf countries told [President] Trump they would not fund this,” Takkenberg said.
If Israel’s plan succeeds, it will threaten the future of humanitarian action not just in occupied Palestinian territory but globally as well, he added.
Hamas condemns Gaza aid ban, ceasefire stalling
Hamas has confirmed that no aid has entered Gaza despite Israeli officials saying a “basic” amount of humanitarian relief would be allowed into the starved Palestinian territory.
“Netanyahu’s statements regarding the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip are an attempt to throw dust in the eyes and deceive the international community. No aid has yet entered the Strip, and the few trucks that have arrived at the Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] crossing have not been received by any international body,” the Palestinian group said in a statement.
Hamas also denounced the work of Israeli truce negotiators in Qatar as Israel ramps up its attacks on Gaza.
“The presence of the Israeli delegation in Doha, despite its lack of authority, is a blatant attempt by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to mislead international public opinion. The Israeli delegation has been extending its stay day by day without engaging in any serious negotiations since last Saturday,” it said.
‘Weaponisation of humanitarian assistance for military purposes’
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), says an Israeli plan to rely on private military contractors to oversee aid distribution in Gaza falls short of “any basic humanitarian principle”.
“The aid plan which is being proposed is a tool which facilitates the forced displacement of the people,” he told the Financial Times. “And, ultimately, we know that in [the] context of war, forced displacement of people may constitute [a] war crime.”
Lazzarini added: “What’s being proposed here is a weaponisation and instrumentalisation of humanitarian assistance for military purposes and political purposes. I don’t see how morally we can justify a humanitarian organisation to be part of such a plan.”
