The UN assures that the activity of “criminals” at the Kerem Shalom crossing prevents the entry of aid to Gaza

The US assures that it works with both Israel and the United Nations to offer more protection to truck drivers against criminal gangs

June 27 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The spokesman for the UN Secretary General, Stéphane Dujarric, assured this Wednesday that the activity of “criminal” gangs on the road that connects the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Gaza Strip means that United Nations humanitarian teams cannot use it. to distribute aid to the civilian population.

“Insecurity and active hostilities in the south remain a major impediment to humanitarian operations. (…) One of the main and continuing limitations is that the collection of supplies at the Kerem Shalom border crossing remains a major obstacle To this end, humanitarian organizations have confronted criminal activity along the only road they have been forced to use, amid Israeli military operations in the vicinity,” Dujarric said.

Likewise, he has criticized the Israeli authorities for restricting the use of alternative roads, leaving the previously mentioned one as the only option, as indicated in a press conference.

In this regard, he wanted to distinguish between the “desperate people” who have previously tried to access supplies from trucks and the groups of “armed men” who take these materials “at gunpoint.”

Dujarric also recalled that Israeli attacks such as the one carried out against Al Mawasi, which serves as a refuge for thousands of displaced Palestinians, are also an impediment to this humanitarian activity.

The White House, for its part, has assured that the low flow of humanitarian aid through the crossing “is not the fault of the Israelis,” also echoing the criminal gangs that “loot” the trucks.

“There are many reasons why aid and assistance is being withheld. One of the main reasons at the moment is the criminal gangs operating particularly in Kerem Shalom. That is not the fault of the Israelis. And as far as we know, these gangs have no specific connection to Hamas,” White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby told the media.

However, he has expressed that he does not intend to “get Hamas off the hook” because, although he has no connection with them, he blames the Islamist group for allowing “some of these activities to continue.”

After this, he assured that they are working with both the UN and Israel to “obtain personal protective equipment, communications and radio communications” so that truck drivers “feel a little safer.”

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed this issue with Israel’s Defense Minister during a meeting in Washington.

Likewise, they have discussed the need to establish a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and a de-escalation on the northern border with Lebanon, where the Israeli Army is fighting with the Shiite militia party Hezbollah.