UN makes shocking allegations against Israel over Gaza, Netanyahu govt reacts, says…
UN’s top humanitarian official Tom Fletcher accused Israel of ‘deliberately and shamelessly’ imposing inhumane conditions in Gaza. He said that Israel’s actions have increased the risk of starvation in Gaza. This is the strongest statement by a high-level UN official during the Gaza war. Fletcher, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council that Israel has stopped all humanitarian aid in Gaza for the past 10 weeks.
Israel categorically rejected the allegations
Fletcher called for immediate action to stop this ‘genocide’. Israel, in response, rejected these allegations outright and said that it would not accept any aid system that supports the ‘Hamas terrorist organization’. Fletcher said, ‘We should think about what we will answer to future generations when they will ask what we did to stop this terrible tragedy of the 21st century in Gaza.’ Fletcher has demanded immediate action from the Security Council so that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza can be stopped.
‘The grains are lying in godowns just 40 km away’
UN World Food Program’s Gaza director Antoine Renard said that one-fourth of Gaza’s population is on the verge of starvation. Antoine Renard said that the food required to feed the entire population of Gaza is lying in the warehouses of Israel, Egypt and Jordan, which are just 40 kilometers away from Gaza. But due to Israel’s ban, this food is not reaching Gaza. Renard said that their warehouses are empty. Where they were giving food to 10 lakh people in April, now they are able to give food to only 2.5 lakh people. He warned that soon people will not be able to get even one meal a day.
‘…then famine may start in Gaza’
Food security experts said on Monday that if Israel does not lift the blockade on aid and stop the military operation, starvation could begin in Gaza. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, about 5 lakh people in Gaza are facing dire hunger, and 10 lakh others are barely able to get food. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take all possible steps to prevent death, destruction and genocide in Gaza.
‘Hamas is not responsible for the situation in Gaza’
A new US-backed organisation, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has proposed a new aid delivery system modelled on Israel’s plan, but the UN and other aid groups have rejected it. Fletcher called it a “cynical farce” and “an excuse for violence and displacement”. US State Department spokesman Tommy Piggot said the US supports “creative solutions” to get aid to Gaza but wants to ensure that the aid does not end up in the hands of Hamas. However, aid officials say Hamas is not responsible for the situation in Gaza.
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