'The search for food must never be a death sentence', says UN chief on Gaza
UN Secretary General Antonia Guterres has condemned the aid distribution system being operated in Gaza and called for safe humanitarian access for all.
He said that Israeli military operations have created a "humanitarian crisis of horrific proportions".
"Bombs are falling - on tents, on families, on those with nowhere left to run," he said at a press briefing on Friday.
"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families."The search for food must never be a death sentence."
Israel has backed an American private contractor, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which started distributing food boxes at four locations, mainly in the far south of Gaza for the past month.
During that time, scores of Palestinians have been killed trying to seek aid.
"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe," Guterres said. "It is killing people."
"The problem of the distrubution must be solved. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes."
He said that Israel is required by international law to facilitate humanitarian relief.
Let me be clear: Israel, as the occupying Power, is required by international law, to agree to and to facilitate humanitarian relief.
"Meanwhile, humanitarian operations continue to be strangled," he told reporters.
"For over three months, shelter materials and fuel for critical services have been blocked.
"Doctors are forced to choose who gets the last vial of medicine, or the last ventilator. Aid workers themselves are starving."
"This cannot be normalized."
Guterres said it was time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and called on world leaders to use their power and influence to work on a solution.
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