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<h1 class="gmail-single_title">UN rejects US-backed Gaza aid plan, warns of imminent famine</h1>
<p class="gmail-single_date">Friday 16-May-2025 - <font size="1"><a href="https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/">https://english.palinfo.com/news/2025/05/16/339401/</a></font></p>
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<p>NEW YORK, (PIC)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>\u201cThis particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic
principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence,
and we will not be participating in this,\u201d deputy UN spokesperson Farhan
Haq told reporters on Thursday evening.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The UN organization added that the health system is severely strained
and facing acute shortages of medicines as well as medical supplies and
equipment.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>It pointed out that this situation is costing lives, calling for an end to the aid blockade.</p>
<p>For its part, the World Food Program said that families in Gaza are starving, while the food they need is stuck at the border.</p>
<p>It explained that the latest food security analysis confirms that the world is in a race against time to avoid famine.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>In addition, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom
Fletcher said that Israel knows what is happening inside the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>\u201cWe 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,\u201d he
added.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p></div>
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