For the past two months, Israel has blocked the entry of food, medicine, and even fresh water into the Gaza Strip, where around 2 million Arabs now face severe food shortages. According to a Financial Times report on Saturday, many are surviving on just one small meal per day.
President Trump stated last Sunday that he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the ravaged Gaza Strip. “You’ve got to be good to Gaza. Those people are suffering. There’s a very big need for food and medicine, and we’re taking care of it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has introduced a new approach to humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, marking a departure from the policies of his predecessor, Herzi Halevi. With the aid flow from the recent hostage deal expected to end in the coming weeks, Zamir outlined three key conditions: IDF soldiers will not directly distribute aid, starvation in Gaza will not be permitted, and Hamas will be prevented from taking control of any supplies.
More truth for y’all.
Hamas once again stealing trucks of the humanitarian aid which ment to be for the Gaza residents.
Yet people still thinks Hamas cares about Gaza. Wake up.
— Vivid.?? (@VividProwess) January 15, 2024
While the IDF emphasized that it would follow the directives of Israel’s political leadership, officials stated that their recommendation is to establish secured zones for aid distribution managed by international organizations and private companies—ensuring aid reaches civilians without being diverted to Hamas.
Under the IDF proposal, Gazans would be required to travel to designated “humanitarian zones” to collect food parcels for their families. If enacted, this system could exclude some of the largest international relief agencies from aiding the civilian population that has endured 19 months of war.
Until recently, the UN and other agencies have delivered aid to Gaza through Israeli-controlled crossing points, where it is stored in their own warehouses before being distributed to smaller points or provided to community kitchens and charity-run bakeries. However, it has been well documented that Hamas agents have been raiding those warehouses to later sell the goods at exorbitant prices on the streets of the Strip.
The UN has stated that it cannot participate in a system that would allow Israel to vet beneficiaries, as this would violate its principles of neutrality and independence. In other words, should the IDF identify a Hamas terrorist waiting for his food package, it must not arrest him because he is under UN protection.
Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian relief chief, said in a statement last week, “The latest modality proposed by Israeli authorities does not meet the minimum bar for principled humanitarian support.”
Last Friday, Axios’ Barak Ravid reported, citing two Israeli officials and a US source familiar with the plan, that the US, Israel, and representatives from a new international foundation are close to reaching an agreement on how to resume humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza’s Arab population without Hamas gaining control.
