Gaza aid chief distribution centers

Tel Aviv (dpa) — The head of a UN office in the Gaza Strip has described an aid distribution scheme run by a rival organization as a “sadistic death trap.”

Philippe Lazzarini is the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which was criticized by Israel for allegedly employing members from the Hamas Islamist movement which attacked southern Israel in October 2023.

An Israeli and UN-backed rival aid group called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been operating in the coastal strip in recent times, but there have been widespread Palestinian media reports of Israeli attacks on those waiting in line for help.

GHF distribution centres are also guarded by private US security firms.

“Snipers open fire randomly on crowds as if they are given a licence to kill. A massive hunt of people, in total impunity,” Lazzarini wrote on X on Monday.

The UN's report on world hunger in world news & headline news — FILE – Palestinians line up for a meal in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. According to the Global Report on Food Crises released Wednesday, April 24, nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza the territory with the largest number of people facing famine. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

“This cannot be our new norm, humanitarian assistance is not the job of mercenaries.”

The foundation has repeatedly denied the reports but according to the UN, hundreds of deaths have already occurred at GHF distribution stations since the end of May.

Israel introduced the new distribution mechanism, claiming it was to prevent the Hamas from diverting aid supplies.

Previously, the UN operated around 400 distribution stations for the approximately 2 million Palestinians in the region. These stations are now barely functioning, as Israel has almost entirely blocked their resupply.