TEHRAN – The UN has led an urgent global condemnation against the Israeli regime over Gaza’s escalating hunger crisis.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned Israel’s strict restrictions on humanitarian supplies to Gaza, allowing only one teaspoon of aid if a flood of aid is required.
He repeatedly said that the UN would not participate in the new model of distribution of US aid aid proposed by Israel.
“Without rapid, reliable, safe and sustained access to aid, more people will die. And the long-term outcomes for the entire population are profound,” Guterres told reporters.
Although Israel’s occupation regime claimed it allowed aid trucks through the militarily controlled intersection of Kelem Shalom, Guterres said only about a third of the cargo reached warehouses in Gaza due to anxiety and lack of coordination.
The Israeli administration has temporarily allowed limited aid delivery by the United Nations and other groups as it prepares to implement a new US-sponsored plan.
The initiative, managed by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, is expected to begin by the end of the month.
It is reportedly involved in the transport of aid to an Israeli-approved “hub.” Tel Aviv says the system will work from four centres in southern Gaza.
However, many operational details remain blurry. Critics argue that the setup holds a solid distribution of aid under Israeli political and military control.
The United Nations has completely rejected the program and warned it is violating international humanitarian principles. It rejects cooperation with systems that compromise humanity, equity, independence and neutrality.
According to UN experts, Israel intentionally uses food as a weapon to push Gaza 2.4 million people into the southern part of the genocide-like strip.
“We will not participate in schemes that do not respect international law,” Guterres confirmed.
Despite having a viable plan to provide assistance, the United Nations is on the sidelines. “There are 160,000 pallets and 160,000 pallets waiting for the border, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks,” Guterres said.
Getting help from displaced people living in tents and makeshift shelters is sporadic. UN officials estimate that at least 600 aid trucks are needed every day to deal with the humanitarian crisis. The UN World Food Program has warned that statements, hunger, despair and uncertainty over food delivery are escalating tensions across Gaza.
The situation deteriorated sharply as the occupation regime imposed a complete lockdown on Gaza in early March.
International pressure on aid has been ramping up as Israeli Occupation Forces (IOFs) push most of Gaza’s population into areas that are shrinking along the coast and close to Khan Eunice.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of Unrwa, said Gaza people have been “deprived of basics, including water and medicines for over 11 weeks.”
He described the recent influx of around 100 aid trucks as “needles in the haystack” that are far below the minimum 500-600 trucks needed each day. “During the ceasefire, we managed that amount without diversion or looting,” he said.
The Israeli regime is not acting alone in creating this human hunger. International rights groups say the United States is complicit in Palestinian hunger.
Washington continues to support the Israeli regime diplomatically and militarily, despite the clear legal basis that it withholds weapons under US law when its allies interfere with humanitarian aid.
Instead of using leverage, the White House has repeatedly been postponed to the Israeli occupation regime, even if Gaza conditions reached genocide levels since October 2023.
Critics argue that this US accomplice was too late to prevent mass deaths from starvation in Gaza.
He says that the choice to support Israel’s siege tactics rather than enforce international humanitarian law makes America a central actor in the catastrophe unfolding.