Gaza, April 17 Israel's recently-outlined policy of blocking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip attempts to "militarise" humanitarian aid and displace Palestinians, a Palestinian official said.
"We view with extreme concern the Israeli attempts to militarise humanitarian aid and place it under the control of the army," amid efforts to displace the Gaza population, Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network in Gaza, told Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.
"This will deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and deprive large segments of the population of vital supplies," al-Shawa said.
The policy is "a violation of international humanitarian standards," he said, adding that Israel "bears full responsibility for the ongoing humanitarian crisis" in Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.
He urged the international community to reject the policy and pressure Israel to ensure the unimpeded entry of essential supplies into Gaza.
After a field visit on Tuesday to Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior military commanders, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz outlined Israel's broader war strategy in a statement earlier on Wednesday, which he said aims to secure the release of hostages and ultimately defeat Hamas.
"Israel's policy is clear -- no humanitarian aid is about to enter Gaza," Katz said.
"No one is currently preparing or intending to bring any humanitarian aid into Gaza under the current circumstances."
According to Katz, aid has been withheld to "undermine Hamas' control over the population and prepare the ground for future (aid) distribution via private companies" without Hamas' involvement.
The Israeli army will not withdraw from areas it has seized and will maintain a presence in designated "security zones" across Gaza, Katz said, warning that if Hamas continues to reject Israel's terms for a hostage deal, "the operation will expand and move to the next phases."
Israel has blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza since March 2.
It then ended a two-month ceasefire with Hamas on March 18 and resumed deadly air and ground assaults on the enclave.
The renewed Israeli attacks have so far killed 1,652 Palestinians and injured 4,391 others, Gaza health authorities said on Wednesday, adding the death toll in the enclave since the war began in October 2023 has risen to 51,025, with 116,432 injured.
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