International aid agencies warned that Israeli plans to control aid distribution in Gaza, including a U.S.-backed proposal, will only increase suffering and death in the devastated Palestinian territory, calling on Israel to lift its blockade on food and other supplies, now in its third month.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the new U.S.-devised aid system would be launched soon, urging the UN and other aid groups to participate. So far, the UN has rejected the new system, saying it “weaponizes aid,” threatens to cause mass displacement of Palestinians, violates principles of neutrality and simply won’t be able to provide the scale of aid needed.
In what has become a daily scene of desperation in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians crowded a charity kitchen in the southern city of Khan Younis, jostling and waving their pots to receive scoops of pasta. Such kitchens are virtually the only source of food left for the territory’s 2.3 million people, but dozens have shut down in recent days as food supplies run out under Israel’s blockade. Aid groups say more closures are imminent.
Read more here.
