The United States says a new foundation is being established to coordinate aid deliveries to Gaza amid Israel’s two-month blockade of the Strip.
The development comes as Israeli attacks continue to target civilians. At least 22 Palestinians were killed in a series of attacks on Friday, medical sources in Gaza told Al Jazeera. They include a mother and child in Al Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza, and a father and son killed in Khan Younis in the south.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told reporters on Friday that Israel would not be involved in distributing aid in the enclave but would provide security for the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The plan for the “charitable” and “non-governmental” initiative was announced on Thursday by State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce. Although few details were revealed, it appears part of a US-Israeli push to take over the distribution of aid to prevent it from being diverted by Hamas and other groups.
The AP news agency reported that the newly created GHF had issued a proposal to implement a new aid distribution system, supplanting the current one run by the United Nations and other international aid agencies.
Reports claim that under the proposal, private contractors will be used to secure hubs where Palestinians will be required to gather to collect supplies.
Israel, which has halted the entry of all aid to Gaza since March 2, deepening the humanitarian crisis, has previously said it will not relax the blockade until a system is in place that gives it control over the distribution, insisting that supplies are used to support Hamas.
The intention to sideline the UN has drawn sharp criticism from humanitarian organisations, and it is unclear if the GHF proposal will ease those concerns.
“There’s only one word to describe this, and this is aid-washing. This is a cynical attempt by the state of Israel and its allies … to use aid to hide the fact that what’s actually going on is people are being starved into submission,” Chris Gunness, a former UNWRA – the UN agency for Palestinian refugees – spokesperson, told Al Jazeera.
“They’re being starved as a part of the mass and illegal force displacement, which is very much part of Israel’s genocidal ambitions against the Palestinians.”
Gunness added that the proposal is also an “attempt by Israel to destroy UNRWA”, stating that UNRWA is the only organisation that has the infrastructure, the staff, the vehicles, the food distribution centres and warehouses “to stave off mass starvation in Gaza”.
The US State Department’s Bruce promised further announcements regarding the proposal would follow soon.
“I was hoping to introduce it today, but the foundation will be announcing this shortly,” she said.
The former executive director of the UN World Food Programme David Beasley is in talks with the US, Israel and other key players to head the GHF, reported US outlet Axis, quoting unnamed sources.
Israel’s blockade, implemented about two weeks before it resumed its bombardment of the enclave, has left Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, most of whom have been displaced multiple times, desperately short of food, fuel, and medicine.
Israeli ‘aid plan’
The US plan appears to be designed along similar lines to a proposal approved by Israel’s security cabinet on Sunday.
Under the scheme, four “Secure Distribution Sites” would be constructed, each intended to serve 300,000 people. Palestinians expelled from northern Gaza would be forced to relocate to reach the centres.
The plan was met by sharp criticism from the UN and other aid groups, who noted that Palestinians have regularly come under attack from Israeli forces while collecting aid.
Addressing those concerns, Huckabee on Friday said “the most significant danger is not doing anything” and “people dying from hunger”.
The aid would be “distributed effectively, but also safely”, the US official insisted, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.
The decision to bypass international aid agencies comes amid growing alarm over famine-like conditions in the besieged territory, where Israel’s near-total blockade has cut off all essential supplies for almost three months.
At least 57 Palestinians have starved to death in Gaza, with most of the victims being children, as well as the sick and elderly.
UN humanitarian agency spokesperson Jens Laerke condemned the effort to dismantle existing aid structures on Tuesday.
“This appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponise the aid,” he said. “It should be based solely on humanitarian need.”
