Israel Blames Gaza Starvation on UN as UNICEF Says Third of Gazan Infants Acutely Malnourished

Israel has been under pressure from the United States and other allies to provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. However, Israel claims that it is already doing everything in its power to help and that the United Nations is to blame for the starvation of thousands of Palestinians in the war-torn enclave.

In a social media post on Wednesday morning, the Israeli government claimed that it had increased its capabilities to provide aid and included a video clip showing hundreds of white containers loaded with aid waiting for collection inside Gaza.

The Israeli government agency that handles affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said in the post, "This is what the content of 700 aid trucks looks like. It is waiting on the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom to be picked up by UN agencies. All the UN did was make up excuses. Aid needs to be collected and delivered. The UN needs to do its job."

On the other hand, the United Nations has explained that it is not just about getting food into Gaza but distributing it once it reaches the territory. They claim that their operations have been severely hindered by the almost complete destruction of Gaza's civilian infrastructure. Many roads have been destroyed along with health, water, sanitation and food production facilities.

According to UNICEF, a third of children under the age of two in Gaza are currently acutely malnourished. Before Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza in response to the group's Oct. 7 terror attack, UNICEF did not consider there to be any acutely malnourished children in the Palestinian territory.