It is the responsibility of Israel, as the occupying power in the Gaza Strip, to restore public order and security in the Palestinian territory, so that humanitarian aid can be delivered, the United Nations (UN) said on Friday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said there was “general lawlessness” in the Gaza Strip, where the entity warned that famine was approaching a population of 2.3 million, more than eight months since the start of the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.
“Most of the trucks with humanitarian aid inside Gaza have now been looted,” Guterres told reporters on Friday, adding that Israel has prevented the United Nations from using Palestinian civil police to ensure the safety of humanitarian aid. “There is total chaos in Gaza and there is no authority in most of the territory.”
The Israeli military announced Sunday that there will be a daily pause in attacks on a key artery in the southern Gaza Strip that the United Nations and other humanitarian groups use to access the Kerem Shalom border post.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, declined to comment on the matter.
Hamas came to power in 2006 after Israeli soldiers and settlers withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but the enclave is still considered Israeli-occupied territory by the United Nations. Israel controls access to the territory.
“We see extreme difficulty in distribution within the Gaza Strip,” Guterres said. “There must be a mechanism that guarantees a minimum of law and order and that allows this distribution.”
Source: Terra
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