UN aid system in Gaza ‘crippled and undermined intentionally’ by Israel, expert says

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00:00Well, for more, we can speak to James Smith, a lecturer in humanitarian policy and practice

00:04at UCL and an emergency physician based in London. James worked in Gaza briefly in 2023

00:10and again for several months the following year. Hello to you, James. First of all,

00:16could you help us sort of get a picture here? More and more reports of people dying

00:21as they try to get aid. Can you explain why there's so much danger around these distribution sites?

00:30As you've reported, almost 800 people we know have been killed trying to seek food at these sites.

00:39The simple answer to your question is that this is an intentional part of the Israeli strategy.

00:45These sites are all situated in the south of Gaza. They are intended to draw people towards the south

00:52where people have to calculate whether or not they will try and stave off starvation for another day

00:59or face the risk of being shot by Israeli snipers, shot by Israeli quadcopters or fired upon by Israeli

01:07tanks. That is an incredibly difficult decision, of course, for anyone to make. Many of the people

01:13that are going to these sites are trying to fend for their families, for their elderly relatives,

01:20for young children in their families. And it is a horrific calculation between starving to death

01:27or being shot and killed.

01:29Yeah. And just to be clear here, then, these sites could be organized in another way that would

01:35limit violence and we wouldn't have all these tragic incidents.

01:40And we have to be clear, there was a humanitarian system coordinated and organized by the UN in

01:47collaboration with Palestinian ministries and Palestinian civil society that existed before

01:55the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was put into place, where people could gain access to

02:03the basics they needed in a dignified fashion. And indeed, even during the course of the last few

02:09weeks, there have been a few distributions organized within this UN system where people are given,

02:16they're alerted that they need to go to the locations to receive food.

02:21They queue up, they receive the food, and they can leave without any immediate threat to their

02:28well-being. This system that I'm describing, the UN coordinated system, has been crippled and

02:35undermined intentionally by Israel and its allies, such that they were able then to introduce this

02:41horrifically violent alternative.

02:43And the UN refuses to cooperate with the GHF, saying that it feels like it's catering to the

02:51Israeli military objectives. If the UN changed its position, could it possibly improve the situation?

02:59I mean, my position is that the UN and the remainder of the principled humanitarian system

03:06should not collaborate with this entity whatsoever. This is beyond a state of compromise.

03:13This is a mechanism that is used to enact violence. I think the UN absolutely made the right decision

03:20not to collaborate with the GHF, and that position should remain the case. The UN system is ready and

03:27capable and able to provide dignified and safe humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza,

03:34and that is the system that should be supported moving forward.

03:37Yeah, we heard the testimony from a former GHF security guard turned whistleblower, who said

03:44that he was instructed to shoot first and ask questions later.

03:51Indeed. And that's also the command that has been given to Israeli soldiers during the course of the

03:59last 20 months of the genocide. I mean, there is absolutely nothing that can be salvaged about this

04:07system. It is an Israeli-led system, sponsored by the U.S., managed by nefarious characters,

04:17hired mercenaries and ex-security folks. There is nothing humanitarian about this system.

04:23You mentioned earlier that people on the ground are having to choose between a bullet or trying to get

04:29aid. What is it? How dire is a humanitarian situation there now? And talk to us about the effects

04:37of hunger and starvation and famine on the human body.

04:42So I've spoken to friends and colleagues, both Palestinian and international healthcare workers,

04:47in the last few days. All of them have referred to malnutrition. Malnutrition is widespread now

04:53throughout Gaza. Colleagues working at the Nassau Hospital in Khan Yunus have reported that even

04:58newborn babies have died of malnutrition in recent days. We know that tens, probably many more,

05:04people have died from starvation. Some of my surgical colleagues have reported that those that

05:11they're operating on are so malnourished now that their surgical wounds are breaking down. They're

05:16unable to mount the response required to heal. Everyone is hungry and the entire population in

05:24Gaza is being starved as we speak.

05:26And if you listen to people like yourself who've worked there or who are covering it, women,

05:33children, medical workers, journalists being disproportionately targeted.

05:38Well, absolutely. And I think the important thing to continue to emphasize here is that this

05:43is genocide. The rules of war do not apply in situations of genocide. I mean, they exist,

05:51of course, they should be applied. But the international legal frameworks exist to prevent

05:56genocide. When someone is trying to commit genocide, what you need to do is to act to bring about an end

06:02to genocide and to protect those who are being genocided. Everyone is being targeted systematically

06:10and intentionally because they are Palestinian or because they are individuals working in sectors

06:18that exist to protect Palestinians, to keep them healthy or to document the crimes that are being

06:23committed against them. James, it may not be feasible for you to return to work in Gaza, but do you wish

06:30you could? I think the important thing really to emphasize here is that there are no number of

06:38international health care workers. There are no number of blood units. There are no number of ambulances

06:43that can adequately respond to genocidal violence. What we need now is for all of us to be engaged

06:50collectively, to recognize that we have a collective responsibility to prevent atrocity crimes,

06:58that there are no humanitarian solutions to genocide. There are political solutions and absolutely

07:04everyone, and most certainly the European Union and its member states, have a political responsibility

07:11now to act to protect the Palestinian people. That's really what I want to see, and that's what we

07:16desperately needed at this critical moment. James, thank you so much for your time. James Smith

07:21speaking to us from London.

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