[News] UN rejects US-backed Gaza aid plan, warns of imminent famine

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 UN rejects US-backed Gaza aid plan, warns of imminent famine

Friday 16-May-2025 - https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/#>
<https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/#>
+ -

NEW YORK, (PIC)

The United Nations has said it will not take part in a US-backed
humanitarian operation in Gaza because it is not impartial, neutral or
independent, as Israel pledged to facilitate the effort without being
involved in aid deliveries.

“This particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic
principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and
we will not be participating in this,” deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq
told reporters on Thursday evening.

Haq stressed that the UN is committed to providing aid in Gaza but in
accordance with its fundamental principles, and that it will not
participate in any aid distribution process that does not comply with those
principles.

The UN spokesperson said that the private firm established by the United
States would play a role that would perpetuate forced displacement and put
further pressure on both the population and displaced persons.

For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged the criticisms
on Thursday and said Washington was open to any alternative plan to get aid
to civilians, expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in the
Strip.

Speaking to reporters in Antalya, Türkiye, Rubio added that the US supports
all aid that can be provided as long as it is not stolen.

Israel has imposed a comprehensive ban on the entry of goods and aid into
the Strip for more than two months, which the UN said has destroyed the
lives of 2.2 million Palestinians and almost completely destroyed the basic
infrastructure on which civilians depend for survival in the Strip.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization sounded the alarm on Thursday
about the deteriorating health situation in Gaza, saying that time is
running out to save lives in the besieged enclave.

The UN organization added that the health system is severely strained and
facing acute shortages of medicines as well as medical supplies and
equipment.

It also explained that, as the main provider of medical supplies in Gaza,
its stocks are running low, threatening to halt many essential health
services.

WHO said that shipments are waiting just minutes away, but the blockade is
preventing them from entering, forcing hospitals to ration what little
supplies they have left.

It pointed out that this situation is costing lives, calling for an end to
the aid blockade.

For its part, the World Food Program said that families in Gaza are
starving, while the food they need is stuck at the border.

It explained that the latest food security analysis confirms that the world
is in a race against time to avoid famine.

The program called on the international community to act urgently to
provide aid to Gaza, warning that if aid continues to be disrupted until
famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many residents of the
Strip.

In addition, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom
Fletcher said that Israel knows what is happening inside the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Fletcher added that the international
organization had been sidelined for 10 weeks and had been unable to deliver
aid to Gaza.

“We have an excellent plan, the plan that is currently in place to bring in
aid on a large scale. We were allowed to do so during the ceasefire. We
want to return to full access without hindrance so that it reaches everyone
who needs support now, not in a controlled manner,” he added.

Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Farhan Haq said that the
international organization has a robust and principled operational plan to
deliver humanitarian aid and life-saving services on a large scale inside
the Gaza Strip.

Haq stressed that the plan is ready to be implemented as soon as the
crossings are opened, emphasizing that time is critical to prevent further
deaths in the Strip.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with full US support, has been committing
genocide and waging a war of starvation in the Gaza Strip, leaving some
173,000 Palestinians martyred or wounded, most of them children and women,
and more than 11,000 missing.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20250516/43e007a7/attachment.htm>