UN aid chief calls on Israel to ‘lift all impediments’ to aid Gaza

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Humanitarian Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths on Friday emphasized the urgent need for Israel to remove obstacles hindering aid distribution in Gaza.

Saying that there is extensive discussions and blame-shifting on aid delivery to Gaza, Griffiths on X wrote, "Limits to aid distribution within Gaza are set by those who block the movements of convoys meant to feed tens of thousands of critically hungry people."

He said the limits to aid distribution are set by "those who denied the access of every fifth humanitarian mission to northern Gaza in the first half of March."

"They are set by those who refuse to open crossing points leading directly to the north where hundreds of thousands of people are at imminent risk of famine. They are set by those who block the entry of lifesaving supplies for hospitals and water purification. And they are set by those who continue to bombard Gaza," he stressed.

The UN relief chief issued strong plea to Israel, emphasizing the need to "lift all impediments to aid."

"We need a ceasefire now," he added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the ICJ. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.