 "UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a press briefing during the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) at the Centre des Expositions conference centre in Nice, France, on June 10, 2025. Reuters File")
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday slammed the US-backed aid initiative in Gaza, describing it as “inherently unsafe” and bluntly stating, “It is killing people.”
The United States and Israel have pushed for the United Nations to cooperate with the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a controversial aid mechanism.
However, the UN has declined to participate, raising concerns about the foundation’s neutrality and accusing it of militarising humanitarian assistance and contributing to the forced displacement of civilians.
Guterres said that UN-led humanitarian operations are being “strangled,” with aid workers themselves facing starvation.
He emphasised that Israel, as the occupying power, is legally obligated to allow and facilitate the delivery of aid throughout Gaza.
“People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families. The search for food must never be a death sentence,” Reuters quoted Guterres as telling reporters.
“It is time to find the political courage for a ceasefire in Gaza,” he added.
Since Israel eased its 11-week blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN aid deliveries to resume, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access assistance from both UN and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operations, according to the United Nations.
A senior UN official said on Sunday that the majority of those fatalities occurred near GHF distribution sites.
GHF has not yet responded to a request for comment on Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks made on Friday, reported Reuters.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEarlier this week it said: “Bottom-line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the UN and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza.”
GHF, which began operations in Gaza on May 26, relies on private US security and logistics firms to carry out its mission. As of Friday, GHF reported distributing over 48 million meals.
On Thursday, the US State Department announced it had approved $30 million in funding for GHF and urged other nations to contribute to the initiative.
Both Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of diverting aid from UN-led efforts—an allegation the militant group has denied.
With inputs from agencies