Quotes
Today, we are announcing that the process is ongoing. It is launched,
Huckabee said in a news conference outside the doors of the U.S. Embassy
They also care very much that Hamas doesn’t steal that aid. But that is a view that is shared by the president and by all of us in the United States,
he saidNotable amount of effort, and it is going to require the partnership not only of governments, but of NGOs, charitable organisations, nonprofits from around the world,
said Huckabee
There are several partners who have already agreed to be a part of the effort. We're not prepared to name them as of yet because some of the details of their participation are being worked out,
he continuedIt is impossible to replace UNRWA in a place like Gaza. We are the largest humanitarian organisation,
the agency's spokeswoman Juliette Touma told a press conference in Geneva, when asked about the proposal
Today is the last day the charity can work, we are forced to close... so people have flocked here. Within days people will not have any food,
Hani Abu al-Qasim, in charge of food distribution, saidWhen (our children) tell us they want to eat, what do we do? There's no flour, there's no bread, there's no food, nothing,
Ilham Jargon, a resident, told AFPSometimes, we stay here waiting but end up leaving without food or water,
she added
Everyone who’s been saying there’s a crisis, I expect them to step up and to now join the effort to resolve it,
Huckabee said
If there wasn’t a humanitarian crisis, there wouldn’t be an effort to try to deal with it. So the answer is, obviously yes, there is a humanitarian crisis,
Huckabee told CNNThis is having a devastating impact on the population, particularly on vulnerable groups including children, women and the elderly,
UNRWA saidYou have to start somewhere and the somewhere feeds an enormous level of the people of Gaza,
Huckabee said, before repeatedly blaming Hamas for rising hunger in GazaThe greatest danger, the most important danger, people starving to death.”
Huckabee acknowledged the deteriorating situation in Gaza, sayingThis mechanism appears practically unfeasible, incompatible with humanitarian principles and will create serious insecurity risks, all while failing to meet Israel’s obligations under international law,
the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs wrote this week in a document obtained by CNNThe genuine intention is to develop a secure way to deliver aid that does not enable Hamas or (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) to get their hands on the aid before it reaches the point of need. In the hands of individual Palestinian families in Gaza,
the source added, sayingI will be the first to admit it will not be perfect, especially in the early days,
Huckabee said
More children are likely to suffer and risk death and injury as a consequence of this plan,
Elder saidHumanitarian aid should never be used as a bargaining chip,
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in GenevaThe current shape that we have been briefed about by (Israeli officials) would not allow us to resume lifesaving activities at the scale that was possible prior to the total blockade of Gaza,
he saidWe are the largest humanitarian organization. We have the largest reach,
she said