Israel's Gaza aid model is 'distraction from atrocities', UNRWA chief says

28/5/2025 19:09

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said on Wednesday Israel's model for providing aid to Gaza was wasteful and a "distraction from atrocities", criticising a chaotic distribution by a U.S.-backed foundation this week.



On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians rushed an aid distribution site set up in the Israeli-held southern Gaza city of Rafah operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), with desperation for food overcoming wariness about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ.



"The model of aid distribution proposed by Israel does not align with core humanitarian principles," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.



"We have seen yesterday the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe," Lazzarini said.



"I believe it is a waste of resources and a distraction from atrocities," he added, referring to civilian deaths during Israel's air and ground war in the small coastal enclave.