We’ve been hearing today from UN aid chief Tom Fletcher, who has warned the coming days will be “make or break” for humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
The UN’s “whole focus unrelentingly is getting that aid moving,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, addressing Israeli claims that pallets of aid are not being distributed by UN agencies.
“We’re not going to leave aid on pallets if we can,” he said. “But to get to it, our drivers face bureaucratic constraints, they face massive security constraints.”
“We have a plan,” he said. “We can reach everyone in Gaza in the next couple of weeks with our aid, with lifesaving aid. We can save as many survivors as possible.”
He added the UN got “quite a bit of food in” yesterday, but that “lots of that got looted.”
Fletcher described the risks faced by humanitarian workers who “have to run the gauntlet,” driving aid along roads where civilians, whom he described as “starving,” know aid is coming.
“They know we’re coming and they’re desperate,” he said. The situation, he added, is what “keeps us awake at night.”
“We need a sustained period of delivery,” he said. “Ultimately, we need a ceasefire. These pauses are a good step in the right direction, but stopping the conflict is key.”
Israel’s response: Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the UN is creating an “excuse and a lie” about humanitarian routes inside Gaza.
Referring to the tactical pause announced by the Israeli military yesterday, which includes the designation of aid routes through parts of Gaza, Netanyahu said: “There are secure routes. They have always been there, but today it’s official. No more excuses.”
