GENEVA, Switzerland (V7N) - A spokeswoman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) stated on Friday that it is "very difficult" to envision any operation to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip without the agency's involvement.

This statement comes after the United States announced the creation of a new foundation to provide aid to Gaza, a move that would sideline the United Nations as Israel's two-month blockade causes severe shortages in the war-affected Palestinian territory.

"It is impossible to replace UNRWA in a place like Gaza. We are the largest humanitarian organisation," said UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma during a press conference in Geneva, when questioned about the US proposal.

While details about the US-proposed body are scarce, a listing in Switzerland indicated the establishment of the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" in February.

Speaking from Amman, Jordan, Touma emphasized UNRWA's extensive reach. "We have the largest reach, whether it is through our teams that work across the Gaza Strip, where we have more than 10,000 people who work to deliver whatever is left of the supplies," she said. "We also manage shelters for the displaced families. It is very, very difficult to imagine any humanitarian operation without UNRWA."

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza for the past two months, prompting warnings from UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations about dwindling supplies of essential resources, including fuel and medicine, for the 2.4 million Palestinians residing in the territory.

Israel denies that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Gaza, where it plans to expand military operations to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken during the group's October 2023 attack that initiated the war.

Reports suggest that Israel, accusing Hamas of diverting aid, aims to dismantle the existing UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, requiring all deliveries to pass through Israeli hubs. This proposal has drawn widespread criticism from the UN and humanitarian organizations.

UN spokesman Rolando Gomez told the press conference, "We'll only participate in any aid operation that respects our humanitarian principles of independence, humanity and impartiality."

James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, warned that Israel's plan would only exacerbate the suffering of children in the Gaza Strip. "It's dangerous to ask civilians to go into militarised zones to collect rations; it further entrenches forced displacement for political and military purposes; and humanitarian aid should never be used as a bargaining chip," he stated.

Elder added that those most vulnerable, who are unable to travel to such zones, would "face horrendous challenges" in accessing aid. "And the use of humanitarian aid as a bait to force displacement, especially from the north to the south, will create this impossible choice between displacement and death."