U.S. Nears Gaza Aid Delivery Solution Amidst Skepticism
WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department conveyed on Thursday that a resolution facilitating the delivery of food aid to Gaza was imminent, with an announcement anticipated shortly. However, this declaration was met with skepticism from the aid community, which doubted the plan’s capacity to alleviate the suffering of the conflict-ravaged population in the enclave.
Anticipation has been building regarding a novel aid strategy for Gaza, a region devastated by 19 months of an Israeli military campaign targeting Hamas. This campaign has resulted in widespread infrastructure damage and the repeated displacement of nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
European leaders and humanitarian organizations have voiced criticism against Israeli proposals to assume control over the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and to engage private companies in delivering food to families. This criticism comes after two months during which the military has impeded the entry of supplies into the Strip.
During a regular press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce provided limited details about the new mechanism but alluded to a "charitable foundation" that would be responsible for executing the plan. "I was hoping to introduce it today, but the foundation will be announcing this shortly," Bruce stated.
Further exacerbating the situation, the Gaza hunger crisis is spreading across the health sector as the Israeli blockade persists.
"While we don’t have anything to announce in specifics in this regard today, and I will not speak on behalf of the foundation which will be doing the work, we welcome moves to quickly get urgent food aid into Gaza in a way … that the food aid actually gets to those to whom its intended," Bruce added.
Israel has accused various agencies, including the United Nations, of allowing substantial quantities of aid to fall into the hands of Hamas. The Israeli government alleges that Hamas seizes supplies intended for civilians and uses them for its own forces.
According to a document reviewed by Reuters and disseminated among the aid community, the United States is considering several options. One such option involves the establishment of a recently-formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which would create four "Secure Distribution Sites," each designed to serve 300,000 individuals.
Pre-packaged rations, hygiene kits, and medical supplies would be transported through tightly controlled corridors and monitored to prevent the diversion of assistance, as outlined in the document.
The document further indicates that on-site and perimeter security would be provided by experienced professionals to "deter interference from criminal networks or other armed groups who have historically sought to control or redirect humanitarian aid." It also emphasizes that the Israeli Defense Forces will not be stationed at or near the sites.
The aid community, which has frequently accused Israel of deliberately ignoring the complexities of aid distribution in Gaza, remained skeptical.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed concerns that the Israeli-proposed authorization mechanism for the distribution of food aid "appears practically unfeasible, incompatible with humanitarian principles and will create serious insecurity risks, all while failing to meet Israel’s obligations under international law," according to a document shared with U.N. member states and reviewed by Reuters.
"NON-STARTER"
A Geneva-based aid official disclosed that they were briefed by a U.S. team on a Gaza aid plan on Thursday but were "not very impressed with the proposal."
Ahmed Bayram, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s media advisor for the Middle East, stated that the Israeli plan raised more questions than it provided answers and risked the militarization of aid. "What is clear is that Israel wants to take aid over… But it also sets a dangerous precedent, because probably for the first time in conflict history, or at least in recent conflict, we would have one of the parties involved in this conflict deciding where aid should go and how it should be distributed," Bayram explained.
He further cautioned that communities would have to move around aid hubs, and the model would endanger civilians, essentially transforming aid into coercion. "The whole thing is a non-starter for us," Bayram concluded.
A United Nations Security Council diplomat revealed that all 15 Security Council members attended a briefing on Wednesday by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff regarding the plan to deliver aid to Gaza, which was held at the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
"Everybody is content that the meeting took place and that someone working on the ground has (finally) briefed the rest of Council members," the diplomat stated in an email.
The diplomat emphasized that expectations remain high. "Members (especially the E10 group) will now give the U.S. a little time to make some progress otherwise they will step in, exert pressure and bring in a new product," the diplomat added, referring to the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, David Brunnstrom, Jonathan Landay and Jasper Ward in Washington and Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Daniel Wallis)
