UN & Gaza aid groups slam Israel’s plans for new aid distribution mechanism ahead of expected offensive

The United Nations and all aid organizations currently working in the Gaza Strip issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning Israel’s reported plans for a new aid distribution mechanism in the enclave.

The entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip has been entirely halted for nearly two months as part of an Israeli-led pressure campaign aimed at securing a new hostage deal with Hamas.

According to a plan approved by the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday evening, the new large-scale offensive will include “the occupation of the Strip and holding the territories, moving the Gazan population south for its security, and denying Hamas the ability to distribute humanitarian supplies.”

Since the beginning of the war, Hamas has routinely seized aid shipments, keeping a significant portion for itself while selling the remainder back to the citizens of Gaza.

On Friday, the Axios news outlet reported that the United States and Israel were close to an agreement with “representatives of a new international foundation,” which would take over the distribution of aid in newly created humanitarian compounds.

Gazan civilians would be able to receive an aid package per family once a week from the compounds, according to Axios.

The reported plan, which so far has not received official confirmation from Israeli officials, was sharply condemned by the heads of all aid agencies active in Gaza. They called the proposal 'unacceptable' and warned that the 'least mobile and most vulnerable' would be unable to access the aid.

“It contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy. It is dangerous, driving civilians into militarized zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers, while further entrenching forced displacement,” they said in the statement.

“The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have made clear that we will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.”

An official of the U.S. State Department who spoke with Axios lamented the statement: “Folks found a creative, outside-the-box thinking solution to a difficult problem. This is something people should celebrate and support, especially given the needs of Gazans. Not to mention that it is a really bad optic for these groups to be on the same side as terrorist Hamas on this.”

On Monday, the Jerusalem Post reported that the American organizations Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, which operated the vehicle checkpoints in January, would be part of the distribution mechanism.

According to the report, the distribution of food is expected to resume in the coming weeks.

In a statement on Monday morning, Hamas also rejected the distribution mechanism: "We firmly reject turning aid into a tool for political blackmail or subjecting it to Israeli conditions. We emphasize that the proposed mechanism constitutes a violation of international law and an extension of the starvation policy."

"The only body authorized to manage and distribute aid is the relevant international and governmental institutions, not Israel. It bears full responsibility for worsening the humanitarian disaster in Gaza."

Throughout the last hostage deal, from late January to early March, approximately 650 food aid trucks entered Gaza daily, well above the estimated minimum requirement of around 200 trucks.

Since then, the enclave’s population has gradually depleted the surplus, which is expected to run out in the coming weeks. Hamas is believed to have its own stockpiles of food, water, and fuel, which it withholds from the general population in Gaza.