JERUSALEM: 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.
