10:56 am ET, December 27, 2023
The IDF tells the international community to “find additional solutions” to distribute aid in Gaza
From CNN's Pauline Lockwood
Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said there are “logistical limitations” to getting aid into Gaza and has urged the “international community to find additional solutions” as world bodies warn of a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the region.
“Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza. We are sending aid into Gaza, to the people of Gaza. We are not an obstacle,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari insisted in a video statement on Wednesday.
“On the contrary. We check more aid trucks than enter Gaza,” Hagari said. “There are logistical limitations and challenges with the ability of international organizations to deliver aid. That is why we urge the international community to find additional solutions for aid delivery, in addition to establishing field hospitals and temporary shelters for Gazans.”
WHO officials visited several hospitals across Gaza on Monday “Worst Accounts” of Suffering As the conflict unfolded it was shared by health workers and patients.
Food and sanitation crises have also engulfed the enclave Humanitarian workers struggle to access adequate resources For displaced Gazans.
Hagari reiterated in his video statement that “the only way is to defeat Hamas” after Israeli officials warned that the war would continue for months.
“We will continue our important work of defeating Hamas and rescuing our hostages. We are committed to freeing our hostages from Hamas and freeing Gaza from Hamas for a better future for the region,” Hagari said.
Characterizing the announcement as “an update on the United Nations' deeply complicated involvement in this conflict,” Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy noted that the UN had failed to condemn Hamas for smuggling aid and waging war outside hospitals.
