Hamas denies UN accusations over Gaza aid distribution interference

UN accuses Hamas of obstructing aid and risking workers’ safety, but the group denies it and defends its actions.A United Nations official has accused Hamas of hampering humanitarian operations in Gaza and putting aid workers at risk, an allegation the Palestinian group rejects.“Humanitarian workers were forced to halt food distributions after armed personnel affiliated with the de facto authorities forcibly entered the Abu Rashid food distribution point in Jabalia, North Gaza,” UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov said in a statement on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3What made US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham a controversial figurelist 2 of 3Israeli forces kill five Palestinians in latest attacks on Gazalist 3 of 3UK Christians protest for Church of England to recognise genocide in Gazaend of listHe said the armed personnel entered a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and assaulted two truck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies.Alakbarov said “these incidents are not isolated” and “reflect an increasingly dangerous pattern of intimidation, violence and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations”.Hamas, which controls parts of Gaza, strongly denied the allegations.“We categorically reject the language of incitement, the distortion of facts, and the manufactured narrative presented in the statement,” the group said in a statement.The group said the WFP distribution centre was not attacked or raided but was instead the site of an “official law enforcement operation” carried out after the discovery of smuggled items “concealed inside humanitarian aid parcels”.It added that a unit of the Palestinian police uncovered an attempt to exploit humanitarian convoys to smuggle in cigarettes and mobile phone screens for commercial purposes.“The police intervention in this incident constituted a responsible governmental measure aimed fundamentally at safeguarding the independence, integrity, and neutrality of humanitarian action,” the group said.