Aid agencies slam Israeli plans for Gaza aid distribution

Aid organizations have condemned Israeli intentions to assume control over the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and employ private firms to deliver food to families following two months during which the military has blocked supplies from reaching the territory.

Israel has shared limited information regarding its plans, revealed on Monday as part of a broader operation that it claims might involve taking control of the whole Gaza Strip. Currently, the blockade will persist until a significant evacuation of residents from northern and central regions to the south takes place, where a designated area will be cleared near the southern city of Rafah, according to Israeli officials.

They stated that individuals entering the area will be screened by Israeli forces to guarantee that supplies do not reach Hamas, utilizing what aid organizations have referred to as particular “hubs” for managing distribution.

Israel has cleared nearly a third of the land to establish “security zones,” and the aid strategy, along with plans to relocate a large portion of the population to the south, has heightened concerns that the ultimate goal is total occupation.

The UN humanitarian organization OCHA stated on Tuesday that the proposal was “the contrary of what is required,” and other organizations also raised concerns about the plan, which they have only received verbal briefings on, according to two aid officials.

“It is totally wrong that a party to the conflict – in this case Israel – should be in control of lifesaving aid for civilians,” Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council said on the social media platform X.

“This new Israeli aid plan is both totally insufficient to meet the needs in Gaza, and a complete breach of all humanitarian principles,” he said.

Aid officials have often charged Israel with intentionally overlooking the challenges of aid distribution in a setting like Gaza, ravaged by 19 months of conflict that has torn apart much of its infrastructure and repeatedly displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million residents.

They claim the newest proposals seem to reflect earlier Israeli concepts of “humanitarian bubbles” or “civilian islands” that were dismissed earlier in the conflict. Israel has blamed organizations like the United Nations for permitting significant amounts of aid to reach Hamas, which it claims is confiscating supplies meant for civilians and repurposing them for its own troops.

“If Hamas continues to steal the aid from the people as well as earning money from it, the war will continue forever,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a statement.