杏MAP导航

By Nathan Morley 

Israel says it will allow foreign countries to air drop humanitarian aid into Gaza in the coming days, but the United Nations criticised the proposal as an ineffective and costly diversion.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. relief agency UNRWA, called the plan 鈥渢he most expensive and least effective way to deliver emergency aid,鈥� as famine grips the besieged Palestinian territory.

The crisis follows months of Israeli-imposed restrictions on food and medicine deliveries. The U.N. has accused Israel of using food shortages as a weapon, in violation of international law 鈥� a charge Israel denies.

The World Food Programme estimates that 90,000 people in Gaza urgently need food assistance. According to the agency, nearly one-third of the population has gone days without eating, with thousands of women and children in dire need of treatment for malnutrition.

On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply rebuked the global response to the suffering in Gaza.

鈥淚 cannot explain the level of indifference and paralysis we see in far too many in the global community 鈥� the lack of compassion, the lack of truth, the lack of action,鈥� Guterres said via video address to Amnesty International鈥檚 annual meeting.

Meanwhile, diplomatic pressure is mounting in Europe. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated that the U.K. would only recognise Palestine as part of a broader peace agreement. But more than 220 British lawmakers 鈥� including dozens from Starmer鈥檚 ruling Labour Party 鈥� have called for immediate recognition.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will formally recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, drawing criticism from both Israel and the United States. France is the first G7 nation to take that step. Norway, Spain and Ireland have also announced recognition in recent months.