UN spokesperson also confirms presence of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s chairman at meeting
The UN confirmed Thursday that its officials attended a US-hosted dialogue on the worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, marking the organization’s first publicly acknowledged engagement with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
"At the invitation of the US Mission, UN entities and partners attended a dialogue on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a written response to Anadolu. "The chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was in attendance."
His response comes following a report by Axios which said that senior UN aid officials met Wednesday with Johnnie Moore, the chairman of the US- and Israeli-backed GHF.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres previously said he was "appalled" by the killing of Palestinians during US-Israeli-directed aid distribution in Gaza and called for an investigation into the incident.
"The search for food must never be a death sentence. Let me be clear: Israel, as the occupying power, is required to agree to and facilitate humanitarian relief," he said.
Guterres’s Spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, also said the GHF was "putting Palestinian lives at risk" and described the military-led distribution mechanism as "inconsistent with humanitarian principles."
Meanwhile, the GHF accused the UN of spreading false information about people being killed at aid distribution sites.
