A senior UN official accused Hamas on Monday of obstructing the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and intimidating aid workers, warning of the risks resulting from the movement's practices.

Ramez Al-Akbarov, Deputy UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a statement that he 'strongly' condemns Hamas's obstruction of humanitarian operations, according to the French Press Agency.

He added that the movement's behavior 'endangered humanitarian workers, intimidated workers distributing life-saving food aid, and hindered vital humanitarian operations.'

According to the statement, armed men believed to be linked to Hamas stormed a food aid distribution center in the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday.

Displaced Palestinian children gather to eat meals in the Zarka area of Gaza City (DPA)

The statement added that the armed men 'also stormed a warehouse belonging to the World Food Program and, according to reports, assaulted the drivers of two trucks that were transporting humanitarian aid.'

Al-Akbarov considered these incidents 'not isolated,' but reflect 'an escalation of intimidation, violence, and obstruction of humanitarian work, including attempts to smuggle, target relief operations, and misuse them,' warning that these practices hinder the delivery of life-saving aid at a time when civilians across Gaza are facing difficult humanitarian conditions.

In response, a Hamas Interior Ministry official in Gaza denied these accusations, stressing that they are 'untrue.'

He said that the police and security personnel 'continue to protect aid trucks and distribution centers and facilitate the work of international and humanitarian organizations' in Gaza.

A woman collects scrap paper to light a fire for cooking in the hall of the Bilal mosque, which has been turned into a shelter for the displaced in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip (AP)

He stressed that the movement 'does not permit any assault on humanitarian workers.'

Hamas still controls parts of Gaza, despite the expansion of the Israeli military occupation to cover more than 60 percent of the Palestinian territory.

Efforts to move forward with the US plan for a ceasefire in Gaza have stalled for months, while the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza remains in Cairo, as Israel has not yet agreed to its entry into the Strip.

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was reached last October (Tishrin al-Awwal) after a two-year war that erupted following the movement's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israel insists on the complete disarmament of Hamas before any political transition, while Hamas refuses to give up its weapons without guarantees of an alternative Palestinian authority to manage the Strip.

Last week, Hamas announced the dissolution of the government emergency committee, responsible for administering Gaza, after two decades of holding power.

On the ground, Israel continues to bomb the Strip, where it occupies more than 60 percent of it, almost regularly, causing deaths, injuries, and more destruction, despite the ceasefire, while the severe humanitarian crisis persists.

Since the ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, at least 1,098 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health, while the Israeli army announced the deaths of five soldiers and one civilian contractor during the same period.