JERUSALEM: A group of 169 aid organisations called for an end to a US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution scheme in Gaza after repeated reports of people being killed while seeking rations.
The NGOs urged a return to the UN-led aid mechanism that existed in the war-torn territory until March, when Israel imposed a full blockade on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza during an impasse in truce talks with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“NGOs call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza,” the organisations wrote in a joint statement Monday.
They urged action to “revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies”.
The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been tasked with distributing aid in the Palestinian territory since late May, when the two-month blockade was partially eased after mounting international condemnation and warnings of imminent famine.
GHF operations have since been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations in the territory, where the Israeli military is seeking to destroy Hamas.
The signatories to Monday’s statement included NGOs from Europe, the United States and Israel working in medical assistance, hunger relief, development and human rights.
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