JERUSALEM — A United Nations official is accusing the Palestinian militant group Hamas of actively disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid inside the Gaza Strip, adding to the suffering of civilians already caught in a devastating war.
In a statement released late Sunday, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories revealed that relief workers were forced to suspend operations on Saturday after armed individuals entered a food distribution site in northern Gaza and physically attacked two truck drivers at a World Food Program warehouse.
U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov issued a stern warning about the pattern of behavior. “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,” he said.
Alakbarov went on to say: “They are 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.”
Hamas pushed back against the accusations on Monday. The group’s media office stated that its police forces were carrying out a legitimate law enforcement operation after receiving tips that smuggled cigarettes and mobile phone components had been hidden inside aid parcels.
“The incident at the World Food Programme (WFP) food distribution center in the Abu Rashid area of Jabalia Refugee Camp was neither a ‘raid,’ an ‘attack,’ nor an ‘obstruction’ of humanitarian work, as falsely claimed,” Hamas said in its statement.
The conflict in Gaza began more than two and a half years ago when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israel’s aerial and ground campaign has left much of the territory in ruins and displaced nearly all of its two million residents, most of whom are now living in tents or damaged structures along a narrow coastal strip that Hamas still controls.
Israeli forces currently hold more than 60% of the territory, including all entry and exit points. Negotiations aimed at disarming Hamas and withdrawing Israeli troops from Gaza have stalled repeatedly over recent months.
