UN chief slams US-backed Gaza aid operation: 'It is killing people'
FILE PHOTO: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, June 10, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that a U.S.-backed aid operation in Gaza is 'inherently unsafe,' giving a blunt assessment: 'It is killing people.'
Israel and the United States want the U.N. to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the U.N. has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.
"Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people, Guterres told reporters.
Guterres said U.N.-led humanitarian efforts are being 'strangled,' aid workers themselves are starving and Israel – as the occupying power - is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave.
"People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence,' Guterres told reporters.
"It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza."
Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited U.N. deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the U.N. and GHF operations. A senior U.N. official said on Sunday that the majority of those people were trying to reach GHF sites.
Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said Israel's military never targets civilians and accused the U.N. of 'doing everything it can' to oppose the GHF aid operation.
'In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations,' it posted on X.
A GHF spokesperson said there have been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites.
'It is unfortunate the U.N. continue to push false information regarding our operations,' the GHF spokesperson said. 'Bottom line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the UN and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza.'
GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics firms to operate. It began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Friday so far it has given out more than 48 million meals. The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it had approved $30 million in funding for the GHF and called on other countries to also support the group.
Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the militants deny. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
UN chief slams US-backed Gaza aid operation: 'It is killing people', World News
UNITED NATIONS - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday (June 27) that a US-backed aid operation in Gaza is "inherently unsafe," giving a blunt assessment: "It is killing people." Israel and the United States want the UN to work through the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement. "Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarized zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people, Guterres told reporters. Guterres said UN-led humanitarian efforts are being "strangled," aid workers themselves are starving and Israel - as the occupying power - is required to agree to and facilitate aid deliveries into and throughout the Palestinian enclave. "People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence," Guterres told reporters. "It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza." Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume, the United Nations says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed seeking aid from both the UN and GHF operations. A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of those people were trying to reach GHF sites. Responding to Guterres on Friday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said Israel's military never targets civilians and accused the UN of "doing everything it can" to oppose the GHF aid operation. "In doing so, the UN is aligning itself with Hamas, which is also trying to sabotage the GHF's humanitarian operations," it posted on X. [[nid:719583]] A GHF spokesperson said there have been no deaths at or near any of the GHF aid distribution sites. "It is unfortunate the UN continue to push false information regarding our operations," the GHF spokesperson said. "Bottom line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the UN and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza." GHF uses private US security and logistics firms to operate. It began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Friday so far it has given out more than 48 million meals. The US State Department said on Thursday it had approved $30 million (S$38 million) in funding for the GHF and called on other countries to also support the group. Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the militants deny.
AsiaOne
3 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Israeli military orders war crime probe into Gaza shootings, paper says, World News
JERUSALEM - Israel's Military Advocate General has ordered an investigation into possible war crimes over allegations that Israeli forces deliberately fired at Palestinian civilians near Gaza aid distribution sites, Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday (June 27). Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said. Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper, quoted unnamed Israeli soldiers as saying they were told to fire at the crowds to keep them back, using unnecessary lethal force against people who appeared to pose no threat. The military told Reuters that the Israel Defence Forces had not instructed soldiers to deliberately shoot at civilians. It added that it was looking to improve "the operational response" in the aid areas and had recently installed new fencing and signs, and opened additional routes to reach the handout zones. Haaretz quoted unnamed sources as saying that the army unit established to review incidents that may involve breaches of international law had been tasked with examining soldiers' actions near aid locations over the past month. The military told Reuters that some incidents were being reviewed by relevant authorities. It added: "Any allegation of a deviation from the law or IDF directives will be thoroughly examined, and further action will be taken as necessary." There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies after the nearly two-year-old military campaign by Israel against Hamas militants in Gaza that has reduced much of the enclave to rubble and displaced most of its two million inhabitants. Thousands of people gather around distribution centres desperately awaiting the next deliveries, but there have been near daily reports of shootings and killings on the approach routes. Medics said six people were killed by gunfire on Friday as they sought to get food in the southern Gaza Strip. More than 500 have died, Gaza authorities say In all, more than 500 people have died near aid centres operated by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) or in areas where UN food trucks were set to pass since late May, the Gaza health authorities have said. The unnamed Israeli soldiers told Haaretz that military commanders had ordered troops to shoot at the crowds of Palestinians to disperse them and clear the area. During a closed-door meeting with senior Military Advocate General officials this week, legal representatives rejected IDF claims that the incidents were isolated cases, Haaretz reported. There has been widespread confusion about access to the aid, with the army imposing for a time a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on approach routes to GHF sites. But locals often have to set out well before dawn to have any chance of retrieving food. In a statement late on Friday, a GHF spokesperson said there had been no incidents or fatalities to date at or in the immediate vicinity of its distribution sites. The statement said the IDF is tasked with providing safe passage for aid-seekers to all humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza, including GHF. "GHF is not aware of any of these incidents but these allegations are too grave to ignore and we therefore call on Israel to investigate them and transparently publish the results in a timely manner," the spokesperson said. [[nid:719557]] The Gaza war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage into the enclave. In response, Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to local health authorities in Gaza. The Gaza health ministry said on Friday that at least 72 people were killed and more than 170 wounded by Israeli fire across Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
‘It's close': Trump says Gaza ceasefire between Israel, Hamas possible within a week
Palestinians inspecting the site of an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City on June 27. PHOTO: REUTERS 'It's close': Trump says Gaza ceasefire between Israel, Hamas possible within a week WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on June 27 he believes it is possible that a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas militants will be reached within a week. At an Oval Office event celebrating a Congo-Rwanda accord, he told reporters that he believes a ceasefire is close. He said he had been just been talking to some of the people involved in trying to reach a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's post-Oct7 military assault has killed over 56,000 Palestinians. The assault has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has picked up steam in the wake of the US and Israeli bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities. A ceasefire to the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict went into effect early this week. 'I think it's close. I just spoke to some of the people involved,' Mr Trump said. 'We think within the next week we're going to get a ceasefire.' He did not say who he has been talking to, but he has told reporters he was in near-daily contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israel-Iran conflict. Mr Trump's surprise prediction of a possible ceasefire deal in coming days comes at a time when there have been few signs that the warring parties were ready to restart serious negotiations or budge from entrenched positions. A spokesperson for US special envoy Steve Witkoff's office said they had no information to share beyond Mr Trump's comments. Mr Witkoff helped former President Joe Biden's aides broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement shortly before Mr Trump took office in January but the deal soon unravelled. The Israeli embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer plans to visit Washington starting on June 30 for talks with Trump administration officials about Gaza, Iran and a possible White House visit by Mr Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the matter. Mr Netanyahu said on June 26 that the outcome of Israel's war with Iran presented opportunities for peace that his country must not waste. 'This victory presents an opportunity for a dramatic widening of peace agreements. We are working on this with enthusiasm,' Mr Netanyahu said in a statement. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
