Civilians are pawns in the war in Gaza, yet humanitarian assistance has been made conditional, withheld or delivered according to political and military agendas.
Every hour of every day of the last two months, aid agencies have pleaded for deliveries of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip. We have been placed in the intolerable position of requesting permission to do lifesaving work.
Earlier this week, I wrote to the president of the United Nations General Assembly to inform him that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s ability to continue delivering its mandate in Gaza has become very limited. In my 35 years of work in complex emergencies, I would never have expected to write such a letter, which predicted the killing of my staff and the collapse of the mandate I am expected to fulfill.
Civilians in this war are pawns, and yet humanitarian aid has been made conditional. Humanitarian assistance is withheld or delivered according to political and military agendas to which the United Nations is not privy. Food, water and fuel are being systematically used as weapons of war in Gaza, as is disinformation. Attacking and trying to discredit humanitarian organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is yet another means of waging war and compromising the humanitarian response, further weakening the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Hamas has absolved itself of any responsibility toward the civilian population. It has shamefully stated that full responsibility for humanitarian assistance toward civilians lies with the U.N. Israel has imposed a near-total siege on Gaza — inflicting collective punishment on more than 2 million people, half of whom are children. The meager supplies that Israel has been allowing into Gaza have little effect in the face of the overwhelming needs of an entire population.
Since the beginning of the war, Israel has forcibly moved more than 1.8 million Gazans from their homes, especially from the northern parts of the Gaza Strip.
