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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was determined to have UNRWA replaced by other agencies without harming aid distribution, citing alleged links between the agency and Hamas militants. In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had not yet received details of the incident but said Israel must protect safety of humanitarian workers despite tough conditions.
Palestinians injured in the airstrike wait for treatment in hospital. The Weir House aid and distribution centre run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees was damaged in Israel airstrikes on Wednesday. Hamas said it killed four people including a UN worker.Credit: Getty
“You’re in a war zone. You have a terrorist group that is firing from hospitals, from schools, from apartment buildings, but the Israeli military, the Israeli government have a responsibility and an obligation to do everything possible to ensure that the humanitarians can do their jobs,” Blinken said.
On Wednesday (AEDT), the UN used a new land route to deliver food to northern Gaza for the first time in three weeks.
“We have been taking efforts to facilitate more aid into northern Gaza,” Israeli government spokesperson Tal Heinrich told journalists. “This was a pilot to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid as they often do.”
The US, Jordan and others have conducted airdrops of aid in Gaza and a ship carrying 200 tonnes of aid left Cyprus this week in a pilot project to open a sea corridor to deliver supplies. While UN officials have welcomed new aid routes, they stress there is no substitute for land access.
Reuters
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