DaysofPal- A new investigation by The New Humanitarian has revealed serious accusations against Susanna Tkalec, the Deputy UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, alleging that her management of aid operations in Gaza has effectively enabled the Israeli occupation to manipulate humanitarian access and weakened the collective UN response.
According to the report, 11 current and former aid workers, including five senior officials, accused Tkalec of failing to challenge the Israeli growing restrictions on humanitarian aid and of echoing Israeli justifications without scrutiny.
They said her decisions have marginalized UNRWA, fragmented the coordination among UN agencies, and undermined the humanitarian community’s unified position.
Tkalec, who assumed her role in early 2025 after the Israeli occupation blocked visas for UNRWA staff, has been leading negotiations with Israeli forces on aid entry into Gaza.
Aid workers told the publication that her individualized negotiation approach allowed the Israeli occupation to divide agencies and dilute pressure for collective action.
Several aid officials said Tkalec negotiated with the Israeli occupation to allow tents into southern Gaza before the large-scale assault on Gaza City, a move they viewed as a tacit acceptance of mass displacement.
Later, she reportedly agreed to a deal allowing flour to be delivered only to bakeries, rather than directly to families, which resulted in chaotic bread lines, looting of a World Food Program warehouse in Deir al-Balah, and civilian casualties.
Others accused Tkalec of transferring food distribution responsibilities from UNRWA to the World Food Program (WFP), despite the latter’s limited capacity and infrastructure.
In one incident, sources said she arranged to import dog food near a UN guesthouse in Deir al-Balah during the height of Gaza’s famine, an act they described as showing “deep insensitivity” toward the suffering population and starving aid staff.
Multiple witnesses said Tkalec and her superior, Ramiz Alakbarov, presented “unrealistically positive reports” in international briefings that downplayed the severe shortages of fuel, chlorine, shelter materials, and the continued closure of crossings, particularly in northern Gaza, where hunger and disease are rampant.
Aid workers also noted that Tkalec frequently left Gaza, burdening scarce logistical resources and leaving a leadership vacuum.
Tkalec, however, defended her absences as “required by her role and directives from superiors.”
In a June meeting with Palestinian journalists, Tkalec reportedly urged them to “calm their communities and prevent looting”, without mentioning Israeli restrictions as the root cause of the crisis. The journalists issued a joint statement afterward, condemning her remarks as “an unbearable insult.”
“You cannot talk about looting without addressing the crimes of the occupation,” the statement read.
The investigation has intensified scrutiny of the UN’s humanitarian leadership in Gaza, with critics arguing that bureaucratic complacency and political caution have left civilians at the mercy of the Israeli control over aid, deepening the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe.
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