Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, criticized the aid distribution plan for Gaza established by Israel and supported by the United States, stating it serves as “a facade for further violence and displacement” of the Palestinians affected by the ongoing conflict.
During a Security Council meeting, Fletcher described the situation as a “farce and a deliberate distraction.”
No humanitarian aid has entered Gaza since March 2. A global hunger monitoring organization has warned that 500,000 individuals are at risk of famine, representing a quarter of the territory’s population.
Last week, Israel suggested that private companies should assume the responsibility for aid distribution in southern Gaza as it launched an extensive military offensive in its conflict with the region, which began in October 2023 following an attack by Hamas on Israel. Currently, international relief organizations and UN-affiliated groups handle the distribution of aid.
Fletcher stated, “We have the means to save hundreds of thousands of survivors. We have strict mechanisms to ensure that our aid reaches civilians and not Hamas; however, Israel obstructs our access and prioritizes the evacuation of Gaza’s residents over the protection of civilian lives.”
Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, a claim the group denies. The Israeli government declared that it would not permit goods and supplies to enter Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages in its custody.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has rejected the Israeli proposal, noting in April that it risks “further control over and severe restriction of aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour.”
The UN maintains that any aid distribution must be independent, fair, and neutral in line with humanitarian principles.
Fletcher mentioned that the UN has held more than ten meetings with Israeli authorities to discuss the proposed aid distribution model in search of a solution, but to no avail. Key conditions include the ability to deliver aid to all those in need throughout Gaza.
Amid this impasse, the United States recently expressed its support for a framework that assigns the task of delivering aid to Gaza to private companies—a proposal that appeared similar to Israel’s but lacked specific details.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council, “We will not allow the outdated system to persist… We appreciate the efforts to build a new mechanism based on accountability.”
On Tuesday, acting U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, noted that senior American officials are collaborating with Israel to enable a newly established Gaza humanitarian organization to “create a secure mechanism capable of delivering aid directly to those in need without Hamas misappropriating or exploiting it for its own purposes.”
She encouraged the UN and relief organizations to work together, asserting that the organization would distribute aid in accordance with humanitarian principles and would “ensure the security of the goods until they reach the civilians in need.”