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The United Nations (UN) stated on Tuesday that it has no confirmation as to whether the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has successfully delivered any aid into the war-torn Gaza Strip.
The GHF, a controversial aid initiative supported by the United States and first unveiled in February, claimed on Monday that it had begun distributing truckloads of food within Gaza. However, the UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said at a press conference in Geneva that they had no knowledge of any such deliveries taking place.
“We don’t have any information,” said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma via video link. “We know what’s needed, we know what’s missing, and we are very, very far from meeting that daily target.”
Touma added that a minimum of 500 to 600 aid trucks are required each day to meet the population’s basic needs — including food, medicine, vaccines, fuel, and clean water.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for OCHA, confirmed the UN was not collaborating with the GHF and suggested the initiative may be diverting attention from the real issues at hand. The foundation has come under scrutiny for allegedly coordinating with Israeli authorities without involving Palestinians directly.
“This is a distraction from what is actually needed,” Laerke said. “What we need is for all the crossings into Gaza to reopen, a safe and secure environment inside Gaza, and much faster approval processes to get the aid that is waiting just outside the border into the territory.”
Israel has intensified its military bombardment of Gaza in recent weeks and faced widespread international condemnation for enforcing a blockade from March 2, which led to severe shortages of food, medicine and other essential supplies.
Although some aid has started to enter Gaza again following the lifting of the 11-week blockade, Laerke stressed that the volume remains grossly inadequate.
Touma added that UNRWA has not been able to deliver any supplies since the blockade began, and Laerke noted that OCHA lacks data on UN aid trucks passing through the Kerem Shalom crossing, largely because Israel does not allow a constant UN presence there.
