Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, spoke to the media on Wednesday, before a session of the UN Security Council session, where he reiterated that the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is not the issue, but rather the fact that Hamas steals aid which is destined for Gazans.
“We’re hearing a lot of accusations about humanitarian efforts in Gaza, so I want to make it clear: The problem in Gaza is not lack of aid. The problem is Hamas, which hijacks the aid, steals it, stores it and sells it in order to feed its terror machine while civilians suffer,” said Danon.
His comments follow a letter which was sent on Monday by US Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defense Austin to Israeli leaders, warning that US weapon shipments to Israel could be affected if Israel fails to make improvements in Gaza within 30 days.
On Tuesday, an Israeli official responded to the American letter, saying that it “has been received and is being thoroughly reviewed by Israeli security officials. Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts.”
News of the letter came two days after US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris urged Israel to increase efforts in allowing humanitarian aid into northern Gaza.
Her call followed claims from the UN's World Food Program (WFP) that no aid has reached that region of the Strip for nearly two weeks.
“The UN reports that no food has entered northern Gaza in nearly two weeks. Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need. Civilians must be protected and must have access to food, water, and medicine. International humanitarian law must be respected,” Harris wrote in a post on X.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Sukkot in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)