The disastrous start of the food distribution coordinated by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation confirmed that the US-Israel plan to instrumentalize aid is ineffective,” Lockyear said in a statement on Friday, according to Press TV.

The statement noted that dozens of people were shot and injured by Israeli forces on the first afternoon of distribution in the southern city of Rafah on Tuesday, “as wholly insufficient amounts of basic lifesaving supplies were distributed amid chaos.”

“Palestinians – deprived of food, water and medical aid for nearly three months – were penned in by fences as they waited to receive basic necessities for survival. This is a stark reminder of the dehumanizing treatment imposed by Israeli authorities for more than 19 months.”

Stressing that this approach is “dangerous and reckless”, Lockyear noted that “food is not being distributed where it’s needed most but is instead directed only to areas where Israeli forces choose to amass civilians.”

“This means the most vulnerable – especially the elderly and people with disabilities – have virtually no chance of accessing the food they desperately need.”

He added, “This unprincipled, failing mechanism” seems to be a “cynical” ploy to feign compliance with International Humanitarian Law.

“In practice, it uses aid as a tool to forcibly displace people as part of what appears to be a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip – and to justify the continuation of a war waged without limits.

“Meanwhile, the humanitarian system is being strangled by the restrictions imposed upon it. Israeli authorities have allowed a trickle of aid trucks into Gaza, only to obstruct them immediately after they cross the border, preventing life-saving assistance from reaching the people who need it most, including children and pregnant and lactating women.”

Lockyear stated that forcing humanitarian organizations to deliver insufficient aid to a society pushed to the brink, amid chaos, “is part of a broader tactic to reinforce a one-sided narrative: the only way to deliver aid is to militarize it.”

“Along with displacement orders and bombing campaigns that kill civilians, weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity.”

Lockyear called for “a lasting ceasefire” and the “immediate” opening of Gaza’s borders for humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, fuel and equipment to ease “this man-made catastrophe.”

Israel launched the campaign of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. It has killed at least 54,321 Palestinians there so far, according to the health ministry of Gaza.

MNA