Israeli criticism of Gaza aid workers is ‘beyond cynical,’ fumes UN official

A United Nations official in Gaza hits back at Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) after the latter claimed that the UN has failed to fulfill its role in collecting humanitarian aid from the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

“It is beyond cynical to blame humanitarian workers risking their lives in Gaza for not being able to do more,” the Gaza-based UN official tells The Times of Israel, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The reality is that Israel is failing to enable our work and people are dying as a result.”

“For eighty days, Israel blocked every effort to bring lifesaving supplies into Gaza. Now, a trickle of aid is allowed in. But it is insufficient to lessen the desperation of a population that has been starved.”

“This means our trucks face the risk of being looted.”

“We are only permitted to deliver flour to bakeries [that] are not able to manage the overwhelming crowds of desperate people,” the UN official continues. “We try to reach the only open crossing point daily and to transport the goods safely, but we face dysfunctional coordination with troops on the ground, leaving us waiting for hours in a militarized zone for the green light to move, while bombing goes on.”

“When we are permitted to move, the routes we are provided with by Israeli forces are inappropriate and unsafe.”

“Our ability to deliver is only as strong as the access we’re given. During the ceasefire, it worked. It no longer does,” the official says.