The risks to aid workers in Gaza are intolerable, the UN said on Tuesday, pressing Israel for more effective coordination with aid groups, approval for the UN to use essential security equipment and for the Israeli army to facilitate aid deliveries.
“Humanitarian operations have repeatedly been targeted in Gaza,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters on Tuesday. “The risks, frankly, are becoming increasingly intolerable.”
He said that the UN security chief met on Monday (24) with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Cogat, the Israeli military branch responsible for humanitarian aid transfers, to discuss the UN’s difficulties in working in Gaza during the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said last week that there is “total lawlessness” in Gaza that is impeding aid operations, given the imminent risk of famine. The United States said it is working with the UN and Israel to try to improve the situation.
“Every day, we assess the situation and see how we can operate safely, both for our own employees but, more importantly, for those receiving assistance,” Dujarric said. “Every day, we need to take advantage of every opportunity we have.”
On Tuesday, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Miller, told the Security Council that more than 36,000 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza during the more than eight months of conflict. The trucks carried more than 680,000 tons of aid, including food, water, shelter equipment, medical supplies and fuel.
According to Miller, the problem lies in the UN’s collection and distribution of aid after it enters Gaza.
“Almost all UN requests for coordination of humanitarian convoys have been and have been approved, and daily pauses in counter-terrorism operations continue to allow for the distribution of aid,” Miller added.
Source: CNN Brasil
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