Israel ambassador says there is ‘no humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza

Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom shrugged off allegations that the Israeli military is putting civilians at risk through its war in Gaza, saying there is “no humanitarian crisis” in the conflict.

Tzipi Hotovely said in a Sky News interview Monday that Hamas “needs to pay the price” after militants killed more than 1,200 Israelis in a surprise attack at the outset of the conflict 10 days ago.

She added that Israel is working with international organizations to “make sure all Palestinian civilians will be safe” and that Hamas is “preventing” civilians from evacuating from Gaza.

Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed nearly 2,800 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, about two-thirds of which are children. The strikes have leveled entire neighborhoods and targeted civilians fleeing from areas they were instructed to evacuate by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), drawing ire from international aid groups.

The bombardments have displaced more than a million people in Gaza, about half of its population.

A group of United Nations experts condemned the strikes on Gaza as war crimes last week, and organizations, including the United Nations, have continued to encourage the Israeli military to halt its blockade of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

Gaza is nearly out of reserves of food, water, fuel and medical supplies, according to humanitarian aid organizations. Convoys of supplies have been halted at the Gaza-Egypt border due to Israeli airstrikes on the area.

Strikes in southern Gaza continued early Tuesday, when 57 Palestinians were killed by missiles, including an entire family who were killed when an Israeli missile destroyed their house, The Associated Press reported.

A U.N. agency in Palestine warned Monday that Gaza is “running out of life” amid shortages of basic needs.

“In fact, Gaza is being strangled and it seems the world right now has lost its humanity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the East. “If we look at the issue of water, we all know water is life. Gaza is running out of water and Gaza is running out of life.”

“Soon, I believe, with this there will be no food or medicine either,” he added.

Egypt reportedly negotiated a brief cease-fire at the border in Rafah on Monday to transport aid into Gaza, but the border crossing was still closed as of Tuesday. An Egyptian official said Tuesday that an aid convoy would enter Israel to be inspected by the Israeli military before being allowed into Gaza, the AP reported.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) echoed concerns over the safety of civilians Friday, labeling the forced evacuation of a million people in northern Gaza an “ethnic cleansing,” the harshest criticism from an American politician.

“The mass expulsion of over 1 million people in a day is ethnic cleansing,” Omar said in a social media post Friday.

“Many Palestinians are already wounded, displaced and/or caring for a sick or injured relative, child or senior. They can’t simply pick up and leave,” she added. “With communications and electricity shut down by Israel, the order cannot be communicated. Roads are bombed and many cars are out of fuel, making fleeing impossible for many.”

In a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday, President Biden followed his strong support for Israel with calls for the country to better consider the safety of civilians, adding that an Israeli military occupation of Gaza would be a “mistake.”

“Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that … it would be a mistake … for Israel to occupy … Gaza again,” Biden said. “But going in but taking out the extremists — the Hezbollah is up north but Hamas down south — is a necessary requirement.”

The president is scheduled to visit Israel on Wednesday.