Is Israel weaponising flow of aid into Gaza?
The UN on Tuesday accused Israel of trying to “weaponise” the flow of aid into Gaza, leaving the population desperate for food and water while delivering them “bombs” instead. The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA decried the worsening situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory after nearly nine weeks of a total Israeli blockade on Gaza. […]
people inspect the damage at the site of an israeli strike at a unwra school housing displaced palestinians at the bureij camp for refugees in the central gaza strip on may 6, 2025
The UN on Tuesday accused Israel of trying to “weaponise” the flow of aid into Gaza, leaving the population desperate for food and water while delivering them “bombs” instead.
The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA decried the worsening situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory after nearly nine weeks of a total Israeli blockade on Gaza.
“The bottom line is that there’s no aid to distribute anymore because the aid operation has been strangled… There’s no more to give,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke told reporters in Geneva.
In Gaza, “there’s a desperate need for food getting in; they’re getting bombs”, he said.
“They need water; they’re getting bombs. They need health care; they’re getting bombs.”
He voiced outrage at Israel’s recent verbal update to representatives of a grouping of around 15 UN agencies and 200 NGOs, indicating plans to “shut down the existing aid distribution system” that the organisations run in Gaza.
“The Israelis have asked them to instead deliver supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military,” Laerke said.
The UN had flatly rejected that proposal, he said, stressing that such a plan would “not live up to the core fundamental humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality and independent delivery of aid”.
Aid, he insisted, must be given “based on needs and nothing else”.
“It appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponise the aid,” he said, adding that the proposed system seemed “designed to further control and restrict supplies, which is the opposite of what is needed”.
Instead, what was required to alleviate the suffering was for Israel to allow border crossings to reopen and for life-saving aid to go through, said Laerke.
“We have aid pre-positioned outside of Gaza, ready to go in,” he added.
Colleagues on the ground were describing people “rummaging through garbage trying to find something edible”, he said, slamming the “harsh, brutal, inhuman reality” in the territory.
Laerke’s comments came a day after Israel’s military said expanded operations in Gaza would include displacing “most” of its residents, after the country’s security cabinet approved a plan that an Israeli official said would entail “the conquest of the Gaza Strip and the holding of the territories”.
‘Gaza will be entirely destroyed’
Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that a victory for his country in its war against militant group Hamas means that the Gaza Strip will be “entirely destroyed”.
“Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to… the south to a humanitarian zone without Hamas or terrorism, and from there they will start to leave in great numbers to third countries,” the far-right firebrand told a conference in the Israeli settlement of Ofra in the occupied West Bank.
Smotrich, who lives in a settlement in the West Bank, also expressed his hope that the territory would be formally annexed during the current government’s term, which could last until late next year.
In recent months, Israeli public figures, including Smotrich have increasingly called for the annexation of the West Bank, defying global concerns over the future of the Palestinian territory.
‘Efforts ongoing for Gaza ceasefire’
Meanwhile, mediator Qatar on Tuesday said it was still pursuing efforts for a Gaza war ceasefire, even after Israel approved expanded operations and Hamas said it wasn’t interested in further talks.
Qatar remains in “continuous” contact with all parties, foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said, despite major obstacles to a new accord.
“Our efforts remain ongoing despite the difficulty of the situation and the continuing catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” Ansari told reporters at a briefing.
“There are continuous contacts between Qatar and the concerned parties,” he added.
However, a senior Hamas official Basem Naim told AFP the group was no longer interested in truce talks and urged the international community to halt Israel’s “hunger war” against Gaza.
A senior Israeli security official said Israel would “allow a window” for a hostage deal during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East next week.
“The deployment of forces prior to the start of the manoeuvre will allow a window of opportunity until the end of the US president’s visit to the region to carry out a hostage deal,” the Israeli official said.
Gaza has been under total Israeli blockade since March 2 and faces a severe humanitarian crisis.
Israel’s military resumed its offensive on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce.
Ansari said talks were focused on getting aid into Gaza and “the necessity to stop weaponising aid, which Israel has been doing… since the first day of this war”.
“Aid should not be used as a weapon or a bargaining chip,” he said.