UN aid chief: 'Let's not waste time' with US-backed Gaza aid plan
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said on Friday that time should not be wasted on an alternative U.S.-backed proposal to deliver aid to Gaza, saying the U.N. has a proven plan and 160,000 pallets of relief ready to enter the Palestinian enclave now.
"To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let's not waste time. We already have a plan," he said in a statement as Israel blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza for the 75th day in a row.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Friday that "a lot of people are starving in Gaza." A global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation - about a quarter of the population in the enclave.
Israel has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Under the alternative heavily-criticized aid plan, a U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aims to start work in Gaza by the end of May.
The foundation intends to work with private U.S. security and logistics firms to transport aid into Gaza to so-called secure hubs where it will be then distributed by aid groups, a source familiar with the plan has told Reuters. It is unclear how the foundation will be funded.
The U.N. has said it won't work with the foundation because the distribution plan is not impartial, neutral or independent. Fletcher on Friday issued a briefing note on the U.N. plan to resume aid deliveries to Gaza, adding that nearly 9,000 trucks are ready to enter the enclave.
"We have the people. We have the distribution networks. We have the trust of the communities on the ground. And we have the aid itself – 160,000 pallets of it – ready to move. Now," he said. "We demand rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery for civilians in need. Let us work."
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has asked Israel to allow humanitarian deliveries by the U.N. and aid groups to resume now until its own infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to "alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure."
Israel has committed to the foundation to let aid deliveries resume imminently, said a source familiar with the plan. Israel's U.N. mission in New York declined to comment on Friday.
The war in Gaza was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militants Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
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