Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon refutes claims of ‘starvation policy’ in northern Gaza

The UN Security Council convened on Wednesday for an emergency session on the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, with some member states expressing scathing criticism of Israel over collateral damage, the displacement of Palestinian civilians and an alleged “deliberate calculated Israeli policy of starvation.”

The meeting was called at the request of the UK, France and Algeria, following the IDF’s operations in the area of Jabalia and accusations from the UN’s Office for Coordinated Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that Israeli authorities have “increasingly cut off northern Gaza from essential supplies.”

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon attacked the claim and denied the shortage of aid. He emphasized that "the problem is not the amount of aid entering the Strip but the fact that Hamas robs the trucks entering Gaza".

"The only way to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza is to defeat Hamas and completely disarm it,” Danon added. 

The Israeli ambassador noted that Israel “remains committed to working with our international partners to ensure aid reaches those who need it” in Gaza. 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council that a policy of ‘starvation’ would not just be “horrific and unacceptable,” but also has “implications under international and U.S. law”.

“The government of Israel has said that this is not their policy, that food and other essential supplies will not be cut off, and we will be watching to see that Israel’s actions on the ground match this statement,” she said.

He remarks came after mounting pressure from the Biden administration that has threatened to cut off military aid to Israel, if it doesn't make a sufficient effort to improve Gaza humanitarian situation within 30 days.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had sent a letter to Israeli government ministers Yoav Gallant and Ron Dermer stating that the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza has decreased in recent months.

Reuters reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issue, quoting unnamed officials as saying that aid to northern Gaza is likely to increase soon. According to YNET, the Israeli cabinet will continue the discussion on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, COGAT – the IDF’s body responsible for coordinating and facilitating humanitarian aid for Gaza – announced that 50 trucks carrying aid provided by Jordan were transferred to northern Gaza on Wednesday alone. 

ℹ️UPDATE:

50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid - including food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment provided by Jordan - were transferred today (Wednesday) to northern Gaza through the Allenby Bridge Crossing and the Erez West Crossing as part of our commitment to… pic.twitter.com/pFEtlLG2Mr

— COGAT (@cogatonline) October 16, 2024

Overall, the Israeli military has facilitated the insertion of more than 1,071,183 tons of aid into Gaza since the begging of the Oct. 7 war, in more than 54,643 trucks and maritime and air-dropping routes.