GHF is ‘armchair humanitarianism at its worst’, ex-UNRWA spokesperson says
Chris Gunness, former spokesperson for UNRWA, tells Al Jazeera that the chaos at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food distribution point in Rafah “speaks to the extraordinary naivety, amateurishness and inexperience” of the joint Israel-US initiative, calling it “armchair humanitarianism at its worst”.
He said the lack of planning stands out to him, particularly a failure to consult with the community – something known in the humanitarian sector as “the principle of no harm”.
“This was not done. This was imposed by the two powers in the world that are committing a genocide against these people,” he said.
He said UNRWA is the only organisation that has the infrastructure, aid warehouses, food distribution centres, vehicles and workers to effectively distribute aid to Gaza but international donors have allowed UNRWA to be sidelined based on a campaign of “lies, misinformation and propaganda” by Israel.
“We need to re-establish UNRWA. We need to get the international UNRWA staff back into Gaza. We need order restored, and we need proper, orderly food distribution. Only UNRWA can do that,” he said, adding that otherwise there will likely be more mass killings, such as a massacre in February last year when more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces while they waited for aid.
Only sanctioning Israel and re-empowering UNRWA are “going to see us pull back from this absolute catastrophe, which is a stain on the conscience of the world”, he said.
Chaos at Gaza aid site ‘endangers’ Israeli soldiers: Politician
The chaos at the humanitarian aid distribution site in southern Gaza “is a direct result of a failed government that promises ‘order in the distribution’ and once again endangers our heroic soldiers”, according to Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman.
“Israel needs real leadership,” he said in a social media post.
‘A lot of frustration’ at the UN as Israel blocks aid efforts
The chaos in Gaza today – this is exactly what the United Nations has been warning about. The UN has refused to take part in the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid operation that has been organised with Israel and the United States.
The UN says it does not adhere to the basic rules of humanitarian laws, including rules that involve neutrality. The criticism from the United Nations is this organisation doesn’t have the reach or experience that it does.
We know how desperate the situation is. The UN had 400 trucks of aid immediately ready to go, but because of the difficulties on the ground – 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is an Israeli-militarised zone – distributing that aid once it gets in is a real challenge.
The UN has hundreds of locations for aid pickup and distribution compared to the four now being used by this new organisation. The UN has a five-point plan it says would do a better job but it’s not being allowed to do so. So there’s a lot of frustration here.
