Top UN official accuses Hamas of Gaza aid obstruction

JERUSALEM – A senior United Nations official on July 13 accused Hamas of interfering with humanitarian deliveries in Gaza and intimidating aid workers, warning that the group’s actions were making relief operations increasingly dangerous.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza, even after Israeli forces expanded their presence across more than 60 per cent of the territory.

In a statement, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he strongly condemns the obstruction of humanitarian operations by Gaza’s de facto authorities, referring to Hamas.

Hamas’s actions “endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering life-saving food assistance and disrupted life-saving humanitarian operations”, he said.

Armed men linked to Hamas allegedly on July 11 forced their way into a food distribution point in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, the UN statement said.

Militants “also entered a WFP (World Food Programme) warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies”, it added.

Alakbarov said these incidents were not isolated and “reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations”.

He warned that such actions were hampering the delivery of life-saving assistance at a time when civilians across Gaza faced severe hardships.

An official from the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza rejected the accusations, calling them unfounded.

“These are baseless accusations. The police and security forces continue to protect aid trucks and distribution centres and facilitate the work of international and humanitarian organisations,” he told AFP.

He said “the police will not allow any attacks on humanitarian workers”.

A ceasefire was reached in Gaza between Israel and Hamas in October following two years of war, which was sparked by the Palestinian militants’ unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

The second phase of the ceasefire, which was to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has been stalled for months.

Israeli forces have in recent months expanded their presence and taken control of more than 60 per cent of the territory.

Hamas still exerts control over the remaining area, but last week announced it was dissolving its 15-member body that had governed the strip for nearly two decades.

Violence continues in Gaza despite the ceasefire.

At least 1,098 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures the UN considers reliable.

The Israeli military says it has lost five soldiers in Gaza over the same period, as well as one civilian contractor. AFP