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鈥淚鈥檓 not a lawyer. I鈥檓 a humanitarian. My job is to get the aid in, to get the attention of the world, to help create the conditions to get that aid in and save as many lives as possible before it鈥檚 too late,鈥� Fletcher said Wednesday.

鈥淏ut I also want to make sure that we aren’t making the mistake that was made with previous massive breaches of international law, where it hasn鈥檛 been called out soon enough,鈥� he added.

Fletcher is concerning , a charge that Israel vehemently denies and that many in the international community have been hesitant to make even as criticism of Israel has come to a head in recent weeks.

鈥淚nstead of admitting that the existing distribution system has failed, the U.N. insists on preserving Hamas鈥� supply pipeline,” Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said Tuesday to the Security Council. “This is not neutrality 鈥� this is support for terrorism. Israel will not cooperate with a mechanism that strengthens those who kidnapped, murdered, raped and tortured our citizens.鈥�

United Nations spokespeople have stressed repeatedly that only a court can make a determination that genocide has been committed.

Fletcher, a longtime British diplomat, has spent the last several weeks in meetings with Israeli officials, lobbying for them to allow back into Gaza food, fuel, medicine and all other . It’s worsened a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians, with experts saying this week that nearly half a million Palestinians are and 1 million others can barely get enough food.

Israel says that the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release and that it won鈥檛 allow aid back in until a system is in place that gives it control over distribution.

鈥淲e have these very, very robust procedures, distribution points, oversights and so on to keep (aid) away from Hamas,鈥� Fletcher said. 鈥淲e have the best plan to save millions of lives that is out there. There鈥檚 no better plan for that. And we want to get in and do that.鈥�

U.S. and Israeli officials, however, have been pushing the U.N. to assist with a new organization, , that is set to implement an aid distribution system based on plans similar to those designed by Israel.

Many in the aid community, including Fletcher, believe it is meant to and other international aid agencies.

鈥淲hat I have heard is a system that to me feels very dehumanizing,” Fletcher said, noting that people would be “moved out of their own locations, deliberately displaced into holding pens, expected to show ID and so on in a very dehumanizing way that isn鈥檛 based on humanitarian need.鈥�

He said U.N. lawyers and nonprofit partners have warned that if the U.N. were to agree to this proposal, 鈥渨e would be undermining our humanitarian principles鈥� and opening the door for other occupying powers to determine who gets aid and how it is distributed.

The U.S.-backed foundation said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month.

Foundation executive director Jake Wood, a U.S. military veteran and co-founder of an existing disaster relief group called Team Rubicon, indicated that Israeli officials had agreed to allow the foundation to deliver aid through existing systems in Gaza temporarily while the group builds new distribution sites that Israel has demanded for aid.

The Israelis also have agreed to allow more sites to be constructed to allow aid distribution in all of Gaza and to look for ways to get aid to those too malnourished, injured by fighting, too old or too young to travel long distances to one of the aid sites, a foundation鈥檚 statement said Wednesday.

Fletcher said he’s not convinced from his meetings 鈥渢hat there is the will to find a way to ensure this complies with basic humanitarian law.鈥�