UN official: ‘Hamas blocking humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza’

A senior U.N. official condemned Gaza’s “de facto authorities” for disrupting humanitarian aid operations.

By World Israel News Staff

A senior United Nations official has publicly condemned the disruption of humanitarian aid operations by Hamas, in remarks that support longstanding Israeli reports that the terrorist organization has been undermining the delivery of assistance to Palestinian civilians.

Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, who serves as the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), issued the unusual statement on Sunday, following a series of security incidents involving aid deliveries inside the Gaza Strip.

“I strongly condemn the recent obstruction of humanitarian operations in Gaza… which endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering lifesaving food assistance and disrupted life-saving humanitarian operations,” Alakbarov wrote.

Although Alakbarov did not explicitly name Hamas, he referred to Gaza’s “de facto authorities” — the term the UN generally uses to describe the terrorist group, which has governed the Strip since seizing power in 2007.

Alakbarov highlighted several incidents, including armed gunmen storming a food distribution site, forcing operations to be suspended. In a separate incident, armed individuals entered a World Food Programme warehouse and assaulted two truck drivers delivering humanitarian aid.

“These incidents are not isolated. They are completely unacceptable and reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations,” Alakbarov stressed.

Hamas is “placing humanitarian workers at risk, disrupting the delivery of life-saving assistance, and further constraining the ability of humanitarian organizations to operate at a time when civilians across Gaza continue to face immense and pressing humanitarian conditions,” he added.

Israel has long argued that Hamas systematically interferes with humanitarian aid entering Gaza by diverting supplies, intimidating aid workers, and exploiting relief operations to strengthen its own control over the territory. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that the group confiscates food, fuel, and other humanitarian supplies intended for civilians, hoarding the goods and reselling them to civilians at inflated prices.