UN agencies warn that Israel’s plans for aid distribution will endanger lives in Gaza

International aid agencies warned Friday that Israeli plans to control aid distribution in Gaza, including a U.S.-backed proposal, will only increase suffering and death in the devastated Palestinian territory, calling on Israel to lift its blockade on food and other supplies, now in its third month.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said the new U.S.-devised aid system would be launched soon, urging the U.N. and other aid groups to participate. So far, the U.N. has rejected the new system, saying it “weaponizes aid,” threatens to cause mass displacement of Palestinians, violates principles of neutrality and simply won’t be able to provide the scale of aid needed.

In what has become a daily scene of desperation in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians crowded a charity kitchen in the southern city of Khan Younis, jostling and waving their pots to receive scoops of pasta. Such kitchens are virtually the only source of food left for the territory’s 2.3 million people, but dozens have shut down in recent days as food supplies run out under Israel’s blockade. Aid groups say more closures are imminent.

U.S. says a new system is coming

Huckabee depicted the new U.S.-backed system as independent from Israel, which he said wouldn’t be involved in distribution. He said private companies would provide security, while Israel’s military would secure the perimeters from afar. He echoed Israel’s claims that it was necessary because Hamas was stealing aid.

A new group supported by the U.S., called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, has proposed implementing an aid distribution project along the lines of Israel’s demands, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The group is made up of American security contractors, former government officials, ex-military officers and humanitarian officials.

In its proposal, GHF said that it would initially set up four distribution sites, guarded by private security firms. Each would serve 300,000 people, covering only about half of Gaza’s population. Huckabee said that the system will be scaled up “as soon as it is possible.”

The U.N. has rejected Israeli plans to control aid

The U.N. says that what Israel has outlined to it so far in private discussions violates humanitarian principles.

“As the Secretary-General has made clear, the U.N. will not engage in any arrangement that fails to uphold the humanitarian principles: humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality,” the agency’s emergency aid office said in a statement Friday.

Elder, of UNICEF, said that the plan as presented in the GHF document appears “designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic.”

Aid workers say Palestinians would be forced to move to the distribution hubs or walk for miles to reach them, triggering a forced displacement depopulating large parts of Gaza. Though hub locations haven’t been set, aid workers say that according to briefings they received, it appears none will be located in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are located.

See also:

• US admits its new aid plan would initially only feed 60% of Gaza, as UN rejects proposal (CNN)
• US confirms plan for private firms to deliver Gaza aid despite UN alarm (BBC)
• UAE tells Israel it won't work with new Gaza aid mechanism "as it stands" (Axios)