
A boy walks with a jerrycan after filling up with others from a truck loaded with water cisterns in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, June 2024.AFP
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric gave the response in a briefing with reporters Tuesday. On the same day, two different U.N. officials said senior U.N. officials have warned Israel that they will suspend the world body’s aid operations across Gaza unless Israel acts urgently to better protect humanitarian workers. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations with Israeli officials
Dujarric confirmed that the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the Mideast, Muhannad Hadi, sent a letter to COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid distribution in Gaza, on June 17 and further contacts took place Monday between U.N. security chief Giles Michaud and COGAT officials.
U.N. and other aid officials have complained for months that they have no way to communicate quickly and directly with Israeli forces on the ground, in contrast with the usual procedures — known as “deconfliction” — employed in conflict zones globally to protect aid workers from attack by combatants.
Dujarric was asked whether there was any response from Israel and replied, “If there had been a great improvement in the situation, I think you would know it.”
In response to Israeli claims that the UN is the one to be blamed for not delivering aid in Gaza, Dujarric said that the risks to humanitarian staff from picking up aid at crossings from Israel “are unacceptable.”
“To blame those who are trying to help, who are there in Gaza without guns, without real security, to me is a bit far-fetched,” he said.
Dujarric was pressed several times on whether the U.N. would shut down its operations if conditions weren’t improved, and what effect that would have on Gaza.
“I’m not talking about suspending operations,” Dujarric replied at one point. “What I’m saying is that every day we assess the situation, and how best to move forward.”
Short link: