Under a new aid distribution mechanism, security agencies will be involved to prevent Hamas from accessing aid.
Israel will increase the amount of aid entering Gaza in a gradual and controlled way, using local merchants to reduce reliance on the U.N. agencies and international organizations, an Israeli military agency that coordinates aid said on Tuesday.
The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that under a cabinet-approved mechanism, a limited number of local merchants will be involved in distributing aid. The merchants will undergo security screenings and must meet specific criteria, the agency said.
“Goods include basic food products, baby food, fruits and vegetables, and hygiene supplies. Payments for the purchase of these goods will be conducted via bank transfers only, under a monitoring and oversight mechanism. All goods will undergo thorough inspection,” COGAT said on X.
Israel’s move to increase the volume of aid to Gaza follows a pledge by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue working with international partners to ensure large amounts of humanitarian aid flow into Gaza.
U.N. agencies said in a July 29 report that there is evidence of famine and starvation in Gaza, and that humanitarian access remains severely restricted, with aid convoys frequently obstructed or looted.
“Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” a July 29 alert from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) initiative said. “Latest data indicates that Famine thresholds have been reached for food consumption in most of the Gaza Strip and for acute malnutrition in Gaza City.”
U.N. World Food Program Director of Emergencies Ross Smith said: “It’s clearly a disaster unfolding in front of our eyes, in front of our television screens. This is not a warning, this is a call to action. This is unlike anything we have seen in this century.”
COGAT said that there are “hundreds of aid trucks on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.”
“The trucks belonging to the international aid organizations and the UN agencies, most of which contain food, have accumulated over recent months on the Gazan side of the crossings and are awaiting collection and distribution by those organizations following a security inspection,” the agency said.
Col. Abdullah Halabi, head of COGAT’s Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza, said in a July 25 statement, “Israel does not limit the number of trucks entering the Gaza Strip, and it is the collection issue that is preventing the continuous delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”
COGAT, which blames the Hamas terrorist group for looting aid convoys, said that Israel has invested significant efforts in advancing the humanitarian response.
The new mechanism will operate in cooperation with security agencies, the unit said on Tuesday. It pledged to implement measures to prevent Hamas from being involved in the aid delivery and distribution process.
