UN Says Hamas Interfering With Gaza Aid Operations, Threatening Workers  

UN Says Hamas Interfering With Gaza Aid Operations, Threatening Workers  

By The Media Line Staff  

A senior United Nations official accused Hamas on Monday of obstructing humanitarian aid operations in the Gaza Strip, intimidating relief workers and creating increasingly dangerous conditions for personnel delivering food and other assistance.  

Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), said he “strongly” condemned interference by Gaza’s de facto authorities in humanitarian operations.  

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

Armed men linked to Hamas recently entered a food distribution site and a World Food Programme warehouse in Jabalia in northern Gaza, reportedly assaulting truck drivers transporting critical supplies.  

Alakbarov said the incidents reflected a broader pattern of interference with humanitarian work in the enclave.  

“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 said.  

The interference is hindering the delivery of aid as civilians across Gaza face severe hardships, Alakbarov warned.  

Hamas officials rejected the UN accusations. Israeli defense officials have cited the reported pattern of interference as evidence that the terrorist group continues to exploit humanitarian spaces.  

Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire in Gaza in October following two years of war sparked by the terrorist group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.  

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

Israeli forces have expanded their presence in the territory in recent months and now control more than 60% of Gaza.  

Hamas continues to exercise control over the remaining area. Last week, the group announced that it was dissolving the 15-member body that had governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades.