Gaza is forced starving, the best UN employee tells the BBC

The UN humanitarian chief said the people in Gaza were forced to starve by Israel.

In an interview with the BBC, Tom Fletcher said he believed it led to a change in the international response of Gaza.

Asked if his assessment of forced starvation is a war crime, he replied: “Yes, he is classified as a war crime. Obviously, these are questions for the courts for the decision and ultimately the story to decide.”

G -n Fletcher also regretted that he recently said that 14,000 babies could die within 48 hours in gas if the aid was not allowed – a statement that the UN withdrawn later – and acknowledged the need to be “precision” with the language.

Israel began to allow limited assistance in Gaza last week after almost a quarterly blockage stopped delivery of supplies such as food, medicine, fuel and shelter.

He also resumed his military offensive two weeks after the blockade imposed, ending a two -month termination of fire with Hamas.

Israel said the steps were intended to put pressure on the armed group to release the 58 hostages, who are still held in Gaza, at least 20 of which are thought to be alive.

Following the alleviation of the blockade, the scenes of chaos broke out in centers to distribute aid managed by the Humanitarian Gaza-Group, supported by the United States and Israel.

UN, who refuses to cooperate with GHF, said 47 people were injured earlier this week After the crowds flooded one of the centers.

G -n Fletcher said, “We see food placed on the borders and is not allowed when there is a population on the other side of the border that is starving, and we hear that Israeli ministers say that this is to put pressure on the population of Gaza.”

He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should “absolutely” have to disable Finance Minister a statement, the Wesalel, who said that the people in Gaza would be “completely desperate to understand that there is no hope and to look for nothing” and will be looking to move a new life.

“We would expect governments around the world to treat international humanitarian law. The international community is very, very clear about it,” said G -n -Fletcher.

He called on Netanyahu to ensure that “this language, and ultimately this policy … of forced displacement is not accepted.”

Israel is confronted with the growing international criticism of its war behavior.

On Tuesday, the best EU diplomat Kaja Kalas said: “Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is needed to fight Hamas.”

Her remarks followed the intervention of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said he “no longer understands” Israel’s goals.

Earlier this month, UK leaders, France and Canada He called on the Israeli government to “stop its military operations” and “immediately allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza.” In response, Netanyahu accused them of siding with Hamas.

On May 14, Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to act to prevent the genocide in gas.

Asked why he made this statement, he referred to reporting from colleagues on the spot in Gaza.

“What they report is forced displacement. They report starvation, report torture, and report death on a large scale,” he said.

G -n Fletcher said in the cases of Rwanda, Srebrenica and Sri Lanka: “The world told us afterwards that we do not act on time, that we do not sound a warning.”

“And this is my call to the Security Council (UN) at the moment,” Will you act to prevent genocide? ”

G -n Fletcher fell under a strong criticism from Israel after he stated that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die for 48 hours if the aid was not allowed in the tape.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has accused G -n -Fletcher of ignoring Hamas’s atrocities and repeating their propaganda. “It’s not a humanitarian job, it’s a blood slander,” the ministry said at the time.

G -n Fletcher said, “The moment I made these comments, we were desperately trying to get this help.

“We were told that we couldn’t get him and knew we would probably have a few days, a window to get as much help as possible. It was refused, and we desperately wanted to get it. And so, we have to be extremely accurate with our tongue and we have clarified it.”

Asked about his claim – rejected by Israel – that thousands of trucks are waiting for the border to enter Gaza, G -n -Fletcher reiterated that he should be particularly “attentive and really precise”.

He agreed that he had the risk of being seen to accept the situation, but he added, “I will not stop talking about the need to save this life in gas to save as many survivors as possible. This is my job and I have to do it better and do it.”

He said mediation and negotiations are the way to resolve the Gaza crisis and repeat his call for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages held by the belligerent group.

“We all want to see those hostages, released and back with their families,” he said.

“Now I don’t know what the purpose of this war is. I think it obviously exceeded only hostage releases. There is much talk of Hamas’s finishing.

“And clearly, as many people have said, there can be no role in Hamas in the new equation, the new Gaza management and the Palestinian territories.”

Fletcher rejected Israeli claims that Hamas steals large amounts of nutritional aid.

“I do not want to see any of Hamas. It matters to us, because these are our principles, neutral, impartial, independent. It is in our interest to stop this help to get to Hamas and to ensure that it will reach civilians.”

“As a humanitarian, my interest is just to get as much of this help as quickly as possible and to save as many lives as possible as we are allowed to do in the time we have.”

G -n Fletcher also deals with crises in Ukraine, Sudan and Syria, among others, and said the world is facing a “deeply dangerous” moment.

“The Security Council is polarized, divided,” he said.

“This means that it is much more difficult for us to end the conflicts; the conflicts we deal with are more illuminated, there is more impunity and they last longer.

“It’s becoming more difficult and more difficult to end the wars and we humanities … we are dealing with the consequences.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross -border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and 251 others were hostage.

Since then, at least 54,249 people have been killed in Gaza, including 3,986, since Israel resumed its offensive, according to the health ministry in the territory.

With additional reporting from Olivia lace-authens and maartine Lernut.

The full interview of G -N Fletcher will be broadcast on the BBC news channel at 00: 30bst and 16: 30bst on Saturday.