UN official: No proof that Hamas is seizing humanitarian aid

The head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Cindy McCain, has said that Israel’s allegations of Hamas stealing humanitarian aid in Gaza are unsubstantiated.

“People are rushing to aid trucks, and this has nothing to do with Hamas or organised crime,” McCain told CBS News.

She noted that an estimated 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip are currently facing extreme levels of food insecurity.

Despite the growing challenges, McCain affirmed that the WFP will continue delivering food and essential supplies to keep bakeries running in Gaza. However, she warned that aid routes remain completely blocked, stating, “We can’t do our job unless the international community puts pressure on Israel.”

She stressed the critical urgency of opening access to humanitarian supplies, warning that further delays could lead to a humanitarian disaster.

Since 2 March, the Israeli occupation has closed the crossings into the Gaza Strip to humanitarian, medical, and commercial supplies, causing a severe deterioration in living conditions.

With American support, the Israeli army has, since October 2023, been carrying out a campaign of genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 173,000 people killed or injured — most of them children and women — and over 11,000 missing.

READ: Hamas slams Israel’s obstruction of aid to Gaza as systematic policy to starve civilians