Israeli director and restaurateur Shahar Segal, who briefly served as spokesperson for the American aid foundation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), accused Hamas and the UN of exacerbating the humanitarian situation in the area.
GHF is responsible for food distribution in Gaza.
Speaking in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Segal responded to the claims of famine in Gaza, saying: “Nothing coming out of Gaza is factual. There are no foreign journalists in Gaza; all information coming out of there essentially passes through the Hamas filter. I’m not saying there’s no hunger — I’m just saying let’s put it in perspective.”
According to Segal, the humanitarian issue could be resolved if not for UN obstinacy. “To ensure food security for Gaza’s residents, around 100 trucks a day are needed. The foundation is bringing in about 50 trucks, but another 50 are waiting in UN warehouses. The UN refuses to distribute the food because it won’t allow the IDF to secure the convoys and is demanding a ceasefire.”
He also accused the UN of withholding funding. “It’s a political organization with its own interests, and it does things the way it thinks things need to be done. It’s shutting off the flow of massive amounts of US funding and food, which ultimately don’t reach the Gazan population.”
Segal explained that the food shortage serves Hamas’ war strategy: “The terror organization's entire war economy is based on only one thing — food. If you want to prolong the war indefinitely, keep transferring food through Hamas-controlled channels.”
Regarding the chaos at distribution sites, Segal said, “More than there is hunger in Gaza, there is what we call food insecurity — people who think that they won’t have food tomorrow. The moment you open the door, 50,000 people line up. Anyone imagining some 'European-style' orderly scene doesn’t understand Gaza.”
Segal also described the campaign targeting the American foundation over alleged civilian deaths at distribution centers: “This situation ran into a very efficient Hamas influence machine, a complete refusal on the part of the UN to cooperate, and tragedies that occurred not at the distribution points, but on the way to the distribution points.”