UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres firmly rejects Israeli plan to oversee humanitarian aid entering Gaza, warning it could severely limit supplies. While Israel insists the system would prevent Hamas from misusing aid, Guterres emphasizes adherence to humanitarian principles and calls for unrestricted access to those in need.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday voiced strong opposition to a newly proposed Israeli mechanism for managing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, claiming the plan risks severely restricting essential relief supplies.
“This proposal risks further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour,” Guterres said during a press briefing, as quoted by Reuters. “Let me be clear: We will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles: humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.”
Humanitarian deliveries to Gaza have been suspended since March 2. Israel has stated it will not allow a full resumption of aid until Hamas releases the remaining hostages it captured during the October 7, 2023 attack.
The IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said it had presented international agencies, including UN bodies, with a framework intended to streamline aid oversight. According to COGAT, the plan aims to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians and are not diverted for militant use.
“The mechanism is designed to support aid organizations, enhance oversight and accountability, and ensure that assistance reaches the civilian population in need, rather than being diverted and stolen by Hamas,” COGAT posted on X.
However, Jonathan Whittall, a senior UN humanitarian official for the region, has publicly stated that there is no evidence to support claims of aid diversion.
Israel resumed airstrikes and ground operations against Hamas terrorists in Gaza last month following a temporary ceasefire, which ended after Hamas refused to release additional hostages.
Guterres described the current situation in grim terms, claiming, “Gaza is a killing field – and civilians are in an endless death loop.”
The UN chief called again for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” a lasting ceasefire, and unrestricted humanitarian access.
He criticized Israel’s continued closure of border crossings and the blockade of aid, stating, “With crossing points into Gaza shut and aid blockaded, security is in shambles and our capacity to deliver has been strangled.”
Guterres underscored what he described as Israel’s legal obligations under international law.
“As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” he said, adding that such obligations include ensuring access to food, healthcare, and sanitary conditions. “None of that is happening today,” he asserted.
Guterres has regularly been critical of Israel since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Several weeks after the massacre, the UN Secretary-General said that Hamas’ attack on Israel “did not happen in a vacuum” and appeared to blame Israel for the attack.
After his remarks were widely condemned, the UN chief claimed his comments were misinterpreted and that he had indeed condemned Hamas.
Later, he mentioned the sexual crimes committed by Hamas in its October 7 attack in Israel in the same breath as “reports of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees”.
Subsequently, Guterres appeared to equate between Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Last month, the UN chief criticized Israel’s renewal of strikes on the Gaza Strip and said he was “outraged” by them.
In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote, “We are outraged that you, Antonio Guterres, are the Secretary-General of the UN.”
“Not a word about the fact that Hamas rejected two American proposals to extend the ceasefire and release more hostages—two proposals that Israel accepted,” added Marmorstein. “Not a word about the fact that Hamas exploits the transfer of goods to Gaza to rebuild its war machine in order to further attack Israel.”
“Not a word about UNRWA, which, under your leadership, employs Hamas terrorists, and its facilities were used by Hamas to hold hostages. Indeed, we are outraged by your moral bankruptcy,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson concluded.
