David Satterfield: Israel's assassination of police commanders in Gaza made it practically impossible to distribute aid safely (Reuters)
The US envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, David Satterfield, said that Israel "has not provided specific evidence that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has stolen United Nations aid entering the Gaza Strip."
This came in a rare public criticism of Israel, according to what the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
The American agency quoted Satterfield as saying, “We are working with the Israeli government and the Israeli army to find out what solutions can be found here (in Gaza), because everyone wants to see continued assistance.”
In statements to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Friday, the American envoy indicated that with the killing of Palestinian police officers, who were guarding a UN aid convoy in the city of Rafah, following the Israeli strikes earlier this month, criminal gangs began increasingly targeting the convoys.
He explained that the Israeli assassinations of Gaza police commanders, who guarded aid truck convoys, made it practically impossible to distribute goods safely.
Satterfield stressed that chaos and regular Israeli protests at crossing points by those who oppose the entry of aid into Gaza have also disrupted the delivery and distribution process.
Earlier, a leading source in the Hamas movement said, "Negotiations cannot be held while hunger is devouring the Palestinian people."
The source added that Hamas intends to suspend negotiations with Israel until aid and relief enter the northern Gaza Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Tel Aviv being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide. .
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies