Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, issued a statement yesterday, warning that the UN humanitarian effort in Gaza is “already struggling” and “faces mounting obstacles.” He cited three examples from the last couple of days alone: “An Israeli strike seriously injured three people at a known food distribution point where a partner of the World Food Programme was operating. Israeli soldiers fired over 16 bullets at a clearly marked UN convoy at the checkpoint from the south to the north. Armed Palestinian gangs hijacked six fuel tankers entering from the Kerem Shalom crossing, leaving us hardly any fuel for aid operations.
“These incidents are part of a dangerous pattern of sabotage and deliberate disruption. On Friday night, Israeli forces increased attacks during the movement of a 74-truck aid convoy. A drone strike hit a vehicle from the local community which was protecting part of the convoy. And just a few days ago, a UN mission out of Jabalya ran into hostile Israeli soldiers who threatened critical patients and arrested four of them.
“The reality is that despite our determination to deliver food, water, and medicine to survivors, our efforts to save lives are at breaking point. There is no meaningful civil order. Israeli forces are unable or unwilling to ensure the safety of our convoys. Statements by Israeli authorities vilify our aid workers even as the military attacks them. Community volunteers who accompany our convoys are being targeted. There is now a perception that it is dangerous to protect aid convoys but safe to loot them….
“As in my statement on 19 December, I call on UN Member States to insist that all civilians, and all humanitarian operations, are protected,” Fletcher concluded. “This should not need to be said.”
In the same vein, UNRWA director Philippe Lazzarini charged that the Israeli military is not making a distinction for humanitarian workers. “Humanitarian workers, whoever they are, have been regularly a target,” he said, in a post on X, reported Al Jazeera on its live update page for yesterday. “This blatant disregard cannot be the new norm.”
