Thursday Briefing: Aid Chaos Grows in Gaza
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Version 0 of 1. The U.N. yesterday criticized Israel’s new aid operation in Gaza as the country faced mounting anger from Europe over the war and growing pressure from the U.S. to reach a truce. A senior U.N. humanitarian official called the Israeli attempt to control the aid to the Palestinians part of “an assault on their human dignity.” Scores were injured during a rush on a food site on Tuesday, when the program launched. The U.N. World Food Program said that crowds “of hungry people broke into” its warehouse in central Gaza yesterday, and that at least two people had died. “The new U.N. criticism came as no surprise,” Patrick Kingsley, our Jerusalem bureau chief, told me. “For weeks, the U.N. has warned that the new system — which replaces one run by U.N. agencies — may endanger Palestinians.” “Israel says the new system makes it harder for Hamas to steal and hoard food,” Patrick added. “The U.N. warns it will put civilians at risk by forcing them to walk for miles to a handful of sites in Israeli-controlled areas — and possibly contribute to an Israeli plan to displace the population of northern Gaza.” E.U. anger: European diplomats criticized both the aid program and Israel’s offensive. “The disproportionate use of force and the deaths of civilians cannot be tolerated,” said Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s top diplomat, adding that aid “must never be politicized or militarized.” |