The United Nations has warned that the continued danger to aid workers in Gaza is becoming “increasingly intolerable” as Israel’s ongoing military offensive in the enclave continues to block most humanitarian assistance and worsen an already devastating starvation crisis for Palestinians.
On Tuesday, U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters that Muhannad Hadi, the body’s humanitarian coordinator, wrote on June 17 to the Israeli military about the dire aid situation. Gilles Michaud, the U.N.’s undersecretary for security, spoke with the military on Monday, Dujarric added.
“Humanitarian operations have repeatedly been in the crosshairs in Gaza, and I think you know the number of humanitarian workers that have been killed,” Dujarric said. “We’ve repeatedly talked about humanitarian convoys shot at, and notably last Friday. We’ve talked about areas that were deconflicted that were hit — hospitals, shelters and so on. And the risks, frankly, are becoming increasingly intolerable.”
Eight months after Israel launched its military campaign in response to Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, Israeli soldiers have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians in Gaza — in addition to virtually flattening most of the enclave — and more than 500 in the occupied West Bank, the latter of which is not governed by Hamas. As of May, more than 250 aid workers have been killed in the conflict, according to the U.N.
The U.N. has already suspended cooperation with the U.S.-built pier in southern Gaza since June 9, after the Israeli military used the area to kill more than 270 Palestinians in order to rescue four hostages.
Senior U.N. officials have warned Israel that they will suspend aid operations in Gaza entirely unless there is improved protection for the world body’s humanitarian workers, The Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
A letter U.N. officials sent earlier this month reportedly demanded that the Israeli government provide aid workers with a way to directly communicate with Israeli forces on the ground in Gaza, as well as protective equipment for the humanitarian staff.
Dujarric told reporters that the U.N. “will not turn its back on the people of Gaza,” and is “just trying to find the space in which we operate within conditions that meet” its requirements.
“I think you know the number of humanitarian workers that have been killed,” said Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the United Nations.
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“We’re going to continue to work with the U.N. We’ve been talking to the U.N. about seeing if we can’t help get them personal protective gear and equipment, communications, radio communication, so that their truck drivers can feel a little bit more safe,” U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
“You can’t very well blame these guys for being a little bit nervous about driving a truck into Gaza when their convoys and their trucks could be attacked by these criminal gangs and thugs,” Kirby added. “So we’re going to obviously work with them and the IDF to see what can be done about that.