IN THE MEDIA
The UN’s double standards on aid
March 20, 2025 | Justin Amler
Australian Jewish News – 20 March 2025
In a scene that defies all common sense and logic, Hamas has accused Israel of “blackmail” for halting the electricity it supplies to Gaza, where 59 Israeli hostages remain in captivity. At least 24 of them are still believed to be alive after 17 months of utter horror. This follows an earlier accusation of “blackmail” by the terror group after Israel announced on March 2nd that it was halting all humanitarian aid going into Gaza – aid that Hamas has routinely stolen and then either hoarded for its own purposes or sold to ordinary Gazans at exorbitant prices.
The sheer audacity of Hamas is staggering. On October 7, 2023, Hamas and Gazan civilians stormed into Israel, murdering, torturing, and raping 1,200 innocent Israelis while kidnapping an additional 251. Now, the same terrorist organisation that carried out these atrocities claims to be a victim of injustice.
It is important to remember that the recently completed ceasefire deal was itself not a negotiation, but an extortion in which Israel was forced to pay a blood ransom, releasing thousands of convicted terrorists in exchange for innocent hostages – men, women and children, both living and dead.
The world watched in horror as emaciated hostages, who were starved and tortured, were released to the Red Cross in sickening “celebrations” after 15 months of imprisonment in Gaza’s hellish underground dungeons. Their suffering stood in stark contrast to the festive atmosphere. Worse still was the celebratory ceremony when the coffins containing the remains of Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas (32) and her two sons – Ariel (4) and Kfir (nine months old) were released.
Hamas, which has already murdered hostages and threatens to murder more, has cruelly leveraged the lives of Israeli hostages to meet its unconscionable demands, then accuses Israel of unfair coercion and blackmail?
Yet despite Hamas’ well-documented atrocities, the United Nations (UN) continues to act as its de facto advocate. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese continued her stream of wild accusations against Israel by saying that cutting off electricity to the terror enclave of Gaza amounts to a “Genocide Alert”. This is hardly a surprise given her long, documented history of extreme anti-Israel claims, including the use of antisemitic tropes.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also weighed in, demanding that humanitarian aid “must flow [into Gaza] without impediment.” Yet he conveniently forgot that the delivery of humanitarian aid is not an unconditional “right” under international law. In fact, Article 23 of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV act, states that the “free passage of the consignments” of humanitarian aid in a war zone is subject to very strict conditions.
Israel, as the responsible party, is entitled to be satisfied that:
- The aid is reaching civilians – and not being diverted by hostile forces.
- The aid does not provide a “definite advantage [to] the military efforts or economy of the enemy.”
Given the overwhelming evidence that Hamas systematically steals humanitarian aid, diverting it to its fighters, Israel is well within its rights to halt deliveries under the rules set out by the Geneva Convention. Plus, Israeli intelligence is clear that there is ample food already stockpiled in Gaza that should feed everyone in the enclave for at least four months – unless Hamas chooses to hoard it all for itself.
The selective outrage by the UN becomes even more glaring when compared to its actions in other conflicts.
On February 11, Guterres issued an order for the UN to “pause all [UN] operations and programmes in Sa’ada governorate, Yemen.” This decision halted all humanitarian aid, including vital aid programs, such as food distribution, child protection and refugee support.
This came about after the Houthi authorities detained eight UN personnel, including six working in the Sa’ada governorate in Yemen. Other UN personnel have been detained earlier.
In other words, Antonio Guterres held the Houthi authorities responsible for the kidnapping of UN personnel, and consequently refused to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of a major part of Yemen, as long as UN personnel remained hostage.
Yet when it comes to Gaza, where 59 Israeli hostages remain captive, the very same Secretary-General says humanitarian aid must “flow without impediment,” thereby absolving the Hamas terrorist group of any responsibility, and leaving Israel with no leverage to get its hostages released.
This double standard could not be more blatant. When dealing with the Houthis, the UN uses aid to apply pressure, but when dealing with Hamas, similar pressure is illegitimate.
This is not just a failure of truth, logic and international law – but a failure of basic morality.
Once again, the UN has proven itself to be a dishonest, corrupt, politically tainted institution that long ago abandoned any right or authority to pass moral judgment on Israel – a democracy fighting for its survival against a ruthless terror regime that is being actively aided and abetted by international hypocrisy.
