Relatives searching for the missing were often turned away by M23 fighters, who denied the detainees were being held – actions Amnesty says amount to enforced disappearances.
“The clock is ticking towards famine, so [the] humanitarian [system] must be allowed to do its life-saving work now,” Lazzarini said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later acknowledged a “loss of control momentarily” at the distribution centre, but a senior military official said the distribution was nonetheless “a success”.
Israel has facilitated the GHF’s efforts and said the model keeps supplies out of Hamas’s hands.The GHF has faced accusations of helping Israel fulfil its military objectives, while excluding Palestinians, bypassing the UN system and failing to adhere to humanitarian principles.The GHF said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to 462,000 meals, since Israel eased an 11-week blockade of the war-shattered Palestinian enclave last week.
The UN and other international aid groups have boycotted the foundation, which they said undermines the principle that humanitarian aid should be distributed independently of the parties to a conflict and based on need.“The model of aid distribution proposed by Israel does not align with core humanitarian principles,” Lazzarini said on Wednesday.
“It will deprive a large part of Gaza, the highly vulnerable people, of desperately needed assistance,” he said.
He added, “We used to have, before, 400 distribution places, centres in Gaza. With this new system, we are talking about three to four, maximum, distribution places.“When you start acting in a conflict to a level that the people on the ground who are doing the fighting are using your information as they fight”, you may become “a party to the conflict”, Van Esveld explained.
Israel did not provide answers to any of the allegations put to it by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit.The UK government stated: "The UK is not a participant in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. As a matter of principle, we only provide intelligence to our allies where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law. Only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities."
Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit approached everyone else who featured in the documentary but received no response.Shortages and security worsen in Burundi’s overcrowded camps for people fleeing DRC war.