Catholic Relief Services (CRS), International Humanitarian Agency of the Catholic Church in the United States, is asking Israel to allow the access of its humanitarian aid equipment to the Palestine Gaza Strip to deliver food and other supplies to civilians.
Israel imposed a total blockade of humanitarian assistance in Gaza in early March, just before launching new military offensives in the territory. As of this month, Israel began allowing limited amounts of help in Gaza, but CRS and other humanitarian organizations – as well as the United Nations – have said that limited help is insufficient.
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“The priority of CRS is the well -being of innocent civilians in Gaza, especially the vulnerable ones who continue to suffer more,” said the organization in a May 26 statement.
“Our teams on the ground are ready to deliver humanitarian assistance through appropriate modalities to the needy civilians throughout the Gaza Strip,” the statement added. “We advocate a humanitarian access and the entry of large -scale humanitarian supplies. CRS is committed to our operational independence, with neutrality and impartiality, and with the security and dignity of those we serve.”
The statement referred to Pope Leo XIV call so that people use dialogue to solve problems and promote the common good. In his first general hearing, Leo XIV also said that war is “more and more worrying and painful” and asked “to allow dignified humanitarian aid” and the end of hostilities, saying that the “heartbreaking price is paid by children, elders and sick people.”
The CRS statement added that the group is “ready to discuss additional measures appropriate to guarantee the accountability of the aid”, but warned that “innocent people in Gaza cannot wait” and that “food and other supplies must be allowed immediately through existing mechanisms.”
“CRS urgently asks for the end of the war, the return of the hostages and the total facilitation of a responsible humanitarian response throughout the Gaza Strip,” the statement continued.
Cindy McCain, executive director of the UN World Food Program, He said in the “face the nation” program of CBS On Sunday that the people of Gaza “have an extreme food insecurity and could be on the edge of the famine” if even the partial blockage continues.
According to McCain, the UN was entering about 600 humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza every day during the high temporal fire, which stopped in March. With Israel allowing the limited entry of help this month, he said that the UN has only been able to enter about 100 trucks of help to the territory daily.
“We need to enter, and we need to enter on a large scale, not only a few trucks at this time; as I said, it is a drop in the ocean,” McCain said.
Concerns about the humanitarian gaza Foundation
As part of its effort to reduce the total blockade to humanitarian aid, Israel now allows an organization supported by the United States and Israel, the Humanitarian Foundation Gaza (GHF), deliver limited help to Gaza. However, the UN, CRS and other humanitarian groups are not currently working with GHF and have expressed concerns about their operations.
“In the spirit of dialogue, we have sought to learn more about the proposed approaches related to (GHF),” says the CRS statement. “We have had many fundamental and practical questions about their proposal that remain unanswered. We have not agreed to work or collaborate with GHF.”
GHF announced that he began to deliver help to Gaza this week, but it is not clear how much help the group has provided. According to the BBCthe group operates in four distribution sites that are insured by American contractors and Israeli military personnel to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas, which Israel and the United States classify as a terrorist organization.
Earlier this month, Dorothy Shea – the United States’s interim embassy before the UN— He said the GHF It was established “to provide a safe mechanism capable of delivering help directly to those who need it without Hamas stealing, looting or using this assistance for their own purposes.”
“Safeguards have been implemented to ensure that Palestinian civilians in Gaza have access to aid, avoiding deviation by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and criminal organizations, and ensuring that Israel can stay safe,” said Shea.
However, Tom Fletcher – Subsecretary General of the UN for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Aid Coordinator— He said in an informative session of the UN Security Council Earlier this month that the Israeli plan excludes people, strengths displacement and exposes thousands to danger.
“It restricts the help only to a part of Gaza while leaving other urgent needs without attending,” said Fletcher. “It makes help depends on political and military objectives. It makes hunger a currency. It is a cynical show. A deliberate distraction. A smoke curtain for more violence and displacement.”
Jake Wood resigned from his position as executive director of GHF during the weekend amid concerns, saying: “It is not possible to implement this plan and at the same time strictly adhere to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, that I will not abandon.”
Palestinian health officials reported this week that more than 54,000 people have died in Gaza since the beginning of the war at the end of 2023.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold is a reporter of the National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various media, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.