JAKARTA - UN's Head of the World Food Program (WFP) Cindy McCain on Sunday denied Israel's claims accusing militant groups Hamas of looting food aid trucks in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.
Israel and the United States blamed the looting by Hamas on confirming the delay in food delivery to Gaza. McCain's comments came on the same day when a four-year-old boy in Gaza died of malnutrition.
Speaking to CBS News, McCain was asked if he saw evidence of Hamas stealing a small amount of food that is now allowed into Israel after more than two months of total blockade.
"No, not at all. No, in this round," McCain said, quoted from The National May 26.
"These people (Gaza residents) are desperate. They see the World Food Program trucks coming and they run there. It has nothing to do with Hamas or organized crimes or anything else. It only relates to the fact that these people are starving to death," he explained.
He further said Israel currently allows about 100 food trucks to enter Gaza, while before the blockade about 600 trucks enter every day.
"This is just pouring water in a bucket about what it needs right now," he said.
"We have 500,000 people inside Gaza who are very insecure of food and could be on the verge of starvation if we don't help save them from it," McCain explained.
In recent days, Israel has allowed the entry of a small amount of aid after banning shipments since March 2. However, dozens of aid trucks have been looted because law and order are collapsing and despair is rampant.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that an entire population of 2.3 million people is at risk of starvation.
"This is not the first child to die in Gaza from hunger," said Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza's civil defense, regarding the deaths of children.
"If food and drink are not allowed to reach the people of the Gaza Strip, we will see more deaths," he continued.
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The international community must "act to end this suffering", he added.
Secretary-General Guterres said on Thursday Gazans were experiencing "the most violent phase" of the war, with the United Nations World Food Program warning more than 70,000 children facing an acute level of malnutrition.
"To prevent hunger and save lives, we need fast, unlimited and safe access to send," the agency said.
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