Hamas is seeking to use reports of shooting incidents near the new aid distribution centers in Gaza to create chaos and suspicion about the initiative. Over the past three days, there have been reports that civilians have been killed seeking aid, though Israel and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) have denied such statements. However, this has not stopped the reports from spreading quickly and from Hamas seeking to leverage the incidents.
On Sunday, CNN wrote, “Dozens of Palestinians were shot dead by the Israeli military near an aid distribution site in Gaza on Sunday, according to Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses.”
Hamas had already condemned the new aid sites earlier on May 27. “The scenes of thousands of our people rushing into the site designated for implementing the occupation’s aid distribution mechanism, accompanied by live fire on civilians who gathered under the pressure of hunger and siege, confirm beyond doubt the failure of this suspicious mechanism,” the terror group said.
It also stated that new aid sites endangered lives. It was clear from that day that it was in the interests of Hamas to make this claim come true. The first days of aid distribution saw some chaos unfold at the sites, but the humanitarian workers and security were prepared for this and withdrew, setting up the sites the next day.
On Sunday, the terrorist group accused Israel of a “horrific massacre,” which it said had targeted people seeking aid. It said 40 people had been “martyred” and 150 had been wounded. The next day Hamas claimed that three “starving civilians” had been killed and 35 wounded. Hamas obviously blamed Israel.
“Hamas holds the occupation fully responsible for this crime and its predecessors. The number of martyrs killed at aid distribution centers in the past eight days has risen to 102,” the terrorist group said. It accused Israel on Tuesday of a massacre in the “Al-Alam area of Rafah governorate.” It said “Unarmed civilians waiting to receive aid” had been killed and that dozens were “martyrs.”
The BBC wrote on Tuesday that “for the third day running, Palestinians have been killed while gathering to collect aid. This morning, reports started to emerge of another fatal incident near an aid distribution center in Gaza.”CNN reported that “Palestinians on their way to receive aid from a distribution site in southern Gaza have come under fire for a third consecutive day, with nearly 30 people killed and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser Hospital.”
THE IDF said, “Earlier today, during the movement of the crowd along the designated routes toward the aid distribution site – approximately half a kilometer from the site – IDF troops identified several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes. The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops.”
The military said it was looking into reports of casualties. It noted that it “allows the American Civil Organization (GHF) to operate independently in order to enable the distribution of aid to the Gazan residents – and not to Hamas. IDF troops are not preventing the arrival of Gazan civilians to the humanitarian aid distribution sites. The warning shots were fired approximately half a kilometer away from the humanitarian aid distribution site.”
It is in the interest of Hamas to cause chaos and exploit incidents
Hamas hopes that this will tip the scales in its favor. It is in the terror group’s interest to cause chaos and exploit incidents that occur. There is a power vacuum in Gaza between areas that Hamas controls, such as the central camps, Mawasi areas, and parts of Gaza City, and the aid sites.
For instance, there are three aid sites in southern Gaza along a route that extends from near Tal al-Sultan toward the Morag Corridor and Rafah. This is accessed by civilians who come from Mawasi or Khan Yunis. Some civilians claim to have walked 10 or 15 kilometers, meaning they may come from as far away as Deir el-Balah or other areas in the central camps part of Gaza.
Hamas has controlled the central camps, Deir el-Balah, Maghazi, El-Bureij, and Nuseirat, throughout the 19 months of war. The IDF has not entered these areas. In general, the military has not entered around 40% of Gaza, leaving it in the control of the terror group. Even though many Hamas commanders and leaders have been killed, the IDF is cautious and reticent to move quickly.
This results in Hamas controlling almost all of the areas where civilians live in Gaza. Most of the enclave’s 2 million people have been displaced by the war and are asked to evacuate from areas such as Khan Yunis to areas controlled by Hamas.
The only time they are not under its control is when they leave to get the aid at the new sites. They then walk several kilometers over areas where Hamas is not visibly present.
HAMAS’S GOAL is to create chaos and killing in the areas where there is a vacuum. It wants to control the civilians. The IDF and Israeli leaders have not provided any alternative. The military doesn’t want to run displaced persons camps or deal with masses of civilians.
In the war, this has been clear. Israel asks them to leave areas where it operates, without setting up any alternative government for Gaza or providing any way for a different civilian authority to emerge.
Usually in war, when the goal is to remove a group from power, an alternative is set up to govern. This is what happened in 1945 in Germany and Japan, in Iraq after the 2003 invasion, and in Afghanistan. However, in Gaza, there is no alternative to Hamas.
In some areas where there is a power vacuum, armed gangs or clans take over, taking over aid and shooting at civilians. These gangs and clans, or tribes, don’t seem to be filling the vacuum with competent governance. They don’t provide schooling or medical support; they don’t run hospitals or universities.
Gazan children have now been under the cloud of war for 19 months, with no school or alternatives. The war has resulted in them all being moved to areas under Hamas control, which perpetuates its rule.
Hamas wants this to be the future. It knows the IDF is reticent to go into areas where hostages might be held. It also knows that the military moves very slowly and cautiously in Gaza and that Israel has no clear exit strategy or post-war vision.
Hamas likely assumes that the goal of the war includes keeping it in power, but in a weakened state. Hamas doesn’t mind this, though. It has gone through this before in the 1990s and 2000s and has always emerged from the rubble.The terror group also assumes that its leadership in Doha will eventually get a deal. It believes time is on its side and that most of the world is slowly turning against Israel after 600 days of war.
The aid sites are one of the most significant places where Hamas wants to see chaos unfold, and it hopes that additional incidents can be exploited. It doesn’t care what the facts are; if some people can be pushed into the firing line, or if Hamas can simply invent stories about “martyrs,” it will do so daily until it achieves its goal.
