New York: UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher criticized the aid distribution plan in the Gaza Strip, developed by Israel and supported by the United States, describing it as “a cover for further violence and displacement” of Palestinians in the war-torn enclave. Fletcher told the Security Council: “It is simply a farce and a deliberate distraction.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, no aid has entered Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor warned that half a million people, a quarter of the Strip’s population, are at risk of starvation. Last week, Israel proposed that private companies handle the distribution of aid in southern Gaza, as Israel launched a large-scale offensive in its war on the Strip that began in October 2023. International relief organizations and UN agencies would deliver the aid.

Fletcher added: “We could save hundreds of thousands of survivors. We have strict mechanisms to ensure our aid reaches civilians and not Hamas, but Israel is denying us access and prioritizing the evacuation of Gaza’s population over protecting civilian lives.”