Why US-Israeli 'humanitarian foundation' for Gaza is flawed

Fears new aid distribution plan will lead to further displacement and violate humanitarian principles

A Palestinian girl struggles to lift a water container at Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza. AFP

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Amid a lack of detail on how a US-Israeli plan for Gaza aid will work, what little information there is appears so problematic that major humanitarian groups have refused to take part.

The plan to deliver aid through the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will force civilians to become displaced, put their lives at risk, and does not guarantee the equitable distribution of assistance, critics say.

An official of the foundation told The National the aid would be distributed to families in four designated zones in Gaza's south, with Israel acting as a “security force”, and that the relief supplies would be transported directly to these sites instead of via warehouses.

But many challenges face this model of delivery. Khaled El Sheikh, UAE executive director of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said asking people to travel to collect the aid – as opposed to delivering it to them – effectively forces some of the population into displacement.

"The Israeli government is dividing the population ... there will be some points where aid is going to be distributed, leading them to move to get the aid," he said.

Mr El Sheikh said that Israel did not consult MSF, which works on the ground in Gaza, about the plan and accused it of "using aid as an instrument for ethnic cleansing inside Gaza".

Gaza's population of about 2.2 million is at a critical risk of famine, and one in five Gazans are reported to be facing starvation after Israel stopped the entry of aid since March 2. The blockade, which Israel says it imposed to prevent Hamas from stealing supplies, has resulted in infant deaths from malnutrition, caused bakeries to shut down due to lack of fuel and flour, and left hospitals without enough medicines.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Thursday it would start operating at the end of this month, delivering aid to half of the population with 60 lorries a day - a fraction of the territory's needs. It called on Israel to allow the UN to resume relief work in the strip in the meantime.

Following widespread rejection of the US-Israeli plan by the UN, the UK, MSF, the Norwegian Refugee Council and others, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “open” to an alternative, as long as the aid does not fall into the hands of Hamas.

"There isn't enough evidence to suggest that Hamas is taking over the aid," said Saul Takahashi, former Deputy Head of Office for Palestine at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

 "There have been incidents of looting that are a result of breakdown in law and order."

Palestinian children head to a water distribution point to fill their containers in Gaza city. AFP

The former UN official also noted that thousands of people worked for the Hamas-run government in Gaza but distinguishing them from armed combatants was important, particularly when it comes to aid distribution.

"These people, who are affiliated with Hamas in different ways, are civil servants, welfare providers, kindergarten teachers and civilians who are not connected to military activities," he said. Preventing them from receiving assistance violates humanitarian principles, he added.

The source at the foundation told The National the body will work with Israel "without being solely reliant on the historic ways" for distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, referring to the stockpiling of supplies at warehouses before they are delivered to shelters, hospitals and homes.

Looting of aid by armed gangs has been blamed on Israel, for failing to provide an environment secure enough for deliveries to pass through.

Officials previously told The National looting declined significantly when more aid was flowing into Gaza during a two-month ceasefire earlier, which ended when Israeli resumed air strikes on March 18.