State Department says it is ‘continually working’ to get more aid in without it being ‘being looted by Hamas’
The US said Thursday that it is making efforts to deliver humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip while ensuring it is not seized by Hamas.
State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters that Washington is supporting an effort to deliver 90 million meals into the enclave.
“The US government is supporting an effort to get as much aid as possible to the people that need it, without it being looted by Hamas,” Pigott said.
“That is the action of the US government in terms of supporting that effort. And we call on others to support that effort to get as much aid as we possibly can,” he added. “Of course, it will never be enough. It is something we are continually working -- to get more and more aid in, what ways we can without it being looted by Hamas,” he said.
Pigott dodged persistent questions from reporters, however, about Israel's starvation policy, and he did not hold Israel accountable despite its near-total blockade of Gaza. Instead, he blamed Hamas for rejecting a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal.
The UN and several humanitarian organizations have warned that Israel's restrictions on aid have contributed to a man-made famine in the besieged enclave.
Since March 2, Israel has stalled on implementing a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, and has kept Gaza’s border crossings shut, leaving humanitarian aid trucks stranded along the frontier.
Israel has killed more than 59,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, collapsed the health system, and led to severe food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
