Claire Manera: Doctors Without Borders coordinator disputes claims Hamas is stealing humanitarian aid meant for Gaza

Humanitarian groups say there's zero evidence to support the claim that Hamas is stealing humanitarian aid meant for Gaza. 
 
Trucks and airdrops are reaching the Strip after Israel's paused fighting to open some aid corridors. 

International pressure's been mounting as starvation deepens. 

Doctors Without Borders coordinator Claire Manera says Israeli authorities are the only ones she's seen blocking aid. 

"While I was there on the ground, all I could see was medical supplies were going into the hospitals that we worked in - and we were trying to deliver aid into the population."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Israel has boun to international pressure and is allowing some
aid into the Gaza Strip. Trump is blaming HMAS for
stealing aid from people, Claimeniera is an emergency coordinator at
Doctors Without Borders, High Claire Hi. There are the air
drops and the pauses to deliver aid enough.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
No, it is definitely not enough. This is a population
that has received no aid coming in safely for months
and months now, so whatever is coming in now is
vastly inadequate. We need a longer term solution.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Ahamas stealing the aid, like the President claims.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
We have absolutely no evidence of that. And while I
was there on the ground, all I could see was
that medical supplies we're going into the hospitals that we
work in, and we were trying to deliver aid to
the population. So all of these claims to me are
completely baseless.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
There are photographs that have been taken, or at least
one photograph that I've seen, of young men on the
aid trucks with weapons. What's going on there?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, I don't know where these weapons are coming from.
But while I was there, we did have some trucks
come in with medical supplies and it's the Israeli authorities
who told us to use roads that are very unsafe,
and they made the trucks come in at night, and
then those trucks were attacked. So to me, it felt
like we were walking into a.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Trap and attacked my home.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, I don't know who it was, but we were
followed the whole way by an Israeli quad copter, which
is an unmanned drone device which can shoot in all
directions and it's one of the most alarming and scary
pieces of military weapons that they use.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
And when you say the trucks were attacked, what happened.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Well, the trucks were moving along in a convoy and
I had news from my staff that were driving the
trucks that they were being attacked. The drivers fled from
the trucks and unfortunately one of them has lost his
eyesight because they were shot at and the glass went
directly into his eyes. So after this, I said that

(02:05):
we cannot keep receiving trucks coming in this way if
the Israeli authorities insist on it being so unsafe.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
And then what happened to the aid on the trucks.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
We eventually received our medical supplies into our hospital, but
it's not enough.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
And since I'm confused here, so let me just clarify
with you. Was it Humas who was attacking your trucks
or was it the Israelis?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
I have no idea who was attacking our truck.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Did anybody sees any of your aid?

Speaker 2 (02:38):
No? Our aid luckily was left alone because the advantage,
I think is it's medical supplies and it's not food.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Okay, if it was, because you see this, this, I mean,
the story that you're telling me right now at least
opens up the possibility that maybe Trump is right that
Humas is taking some aid.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
I have absolutely no evidence of that. And on the ground,
the coordination with me and in our medical facilities went
very well. All the challenges that we had and that
I had were with the Israeli authorities.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Okay, Claire, what's the solution here? Do I mean? Does this?
I mean? I realized that even the ceasefire talks apparently
are hanging off this thing. Who needs to be in
charge of the aid to make sure everybody gets fit enough?

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Well? The NGOs and the un are able to deliver
this aid safely. We know what we're doing. We have
trucks at the border and we're ready to do so.
Even if there is a temporary ceasefire, it will make
things worse. So we need a permanent ceasefire, and we
need for this to be happening now.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Claire, thank you for your time, Clear and Era Doctors
Without Borders. For more from Hither Duplessy Alan Drive, listen
live to news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
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