UN chief says those seeking food in Gaza must not face 'death sentence'

'People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families', Antonio Guterres says

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Friday that any operation that funnels desperate civilians seeking aid into militarised zones in Gaza is “inherently unsafe”, and that “it is killing people”.

While Mr Guterres did not identify any organisation, his comments were seemingly directed at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an entity backed by the US and Israel that has circumvented traditional aid distribution networks to the alarm of the UN and international NGOs.

"There is no need to reinvent the wheel with dangerous schemes," he said. "We have the solution –a detailed plan grounded in the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence."

He added that UN-led humanitarian efforts are being “strangled”, aid workers themselves are starving and Israel – as the occupying power – is required to enable aid deliveries throughout the Palestinian enclave.

“People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence,” Mr Guterres said.

Gaza’s 2.3 million people face widespread hunger, with many having been displaced several times by the conflict.

His comments come after the head of the GHF, Johnnie Moore, said he had sent a letter to the UN chief asking for collaboration through its aid delivery model.

In the letter, sent earlier this week, Mr Moore called on the UN to engage “immediately and directly” with the GHF to deliver food without the use of “intermediaries, but through a model that has already proven its capacity to reach those in need”.

Israel eased a months-long blockade on Gaza last month, but it has allowed only a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the enclave by way of the UN and the GHF.

The UN and aid agencies say the GHF is militarising aid, with the sites it has set up for distribution guarded by armed private security contractors. The US and Israel have accused Hamas and other groups of looting aid meant for desperate Palestinians.

Despite the presence of the private security contractors, local authorities say that hundreds of people have been killed, most reportedly by Israeli fire, as they approached distribution sites or queued for aid. Israel and the GHF have dismissed reports of widespread violence as a “disinformation campaign”.

The US announced on Thursday that the State Department will allocate $30 million to the GHF's efforts in Gaza. The organisation says it has distributed almost 50 million meals in the enclave so far.