Algeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ammar Benjama, has called for the immediate facilitation of aid delivery to northern Gaza to avert a severe famine in the besieged region.
Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting dedicated to discussing humanitarian access to Gaza, Benjama emphasized the catastrophic impact of hunger and malnutrition on the population.
“In December, the Security Council adopted a resolution to establish a mechanism for facilitating humanitarian aid to Gaza, but recent events have shown the inefficacy of this resolution,” Benjama stated.
He highlighted that while around 100 trucks have been entering Gaza daily since the resolution, this is significantly lower than the 500 trucks per day before October 7.
Benjama pointed out the severe difficulties faced by humanitarian organizations in accessing Gaza, attributing these challenges to the deliberate policies of the Israeli occupation.
“The intentional use of starvation as a war tool by the Zionist occupation has hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said.
He also condemned the destruction of the Rafah crossing, a critical entry point for aid, and criticized the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by Israeli forces.
“The images of over 1,200 humanitarian aid trucks lined up on the Egyptian side of the border are a stark testament to these bureaucratic and administrative obstacles,” he added.
Benjama concluded by stating that the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza is now contingent upon international pressure and the whims of the Israeli occupiers.
Adding to the call for action, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, criticized the American effort to establish a floating pier off the coast of Gaza for aid delivery.
Nebenzya argued that Washington should have instead pressured Israel to ease its blockade and allow significant quantities of aid into Gaza.
