UN official accuses Hamas of Gaza aid obstruction

JERUSALEM, Undefined: A senior UN official on Monday accused Hamas of interfering with humanitarian deliveries in Gaza and intimidating aid workers, warning that the group’s actions were making relief operations increasingly dangerous.

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas continues to control parts of Gaza, even after Israeli forces expanded their presence across more than 60 percent of the territory.

In a statement, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Ramiz Alakbarov, said he “strongly” condemns the obstruction of humanitarian operations by Gaza’s de facto authorities, referring to Hamas.

Hamas’s actions “endangered humanitarian personnel, intimidated workers delivering life-saving food assistance and disrupted life-saving humanitarian operations”, he said.

Armed men linked to Hamas allegedly on Saturday forced their way into a food distribution point in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, the UN statement said.

Militants “also entered a WFP (World Food Programme) warehouse and reportedly assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies”, it added.

Alakbarov said “these incidents are not isolated” and “reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations”.

He warned that such actions were hampering the delivery of life-saving assistance at a time when civilians across Gaza faced severe hardships.

A ceasefire was reached in Gaza between Israel and Hamas in October following two years of war.

The second phase of the ceasefire, which was to involve Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, has been stalled for months.

Israeli forces have expanded their presence in recent months, taking control of more than 60 percent of the territory.

Hamas still exerts control over the remaining area, but last week announced it was dissolving its 15-member body that had governed the strip for nearly two decades.

Violence continues in Gaza despite the ceasefire.

At least 1,098 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect, according to the territory’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.