A US-backed initiative to support humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza is facing reported hurdles even as it tries to begin its work. It was supposed to begin work this weekend, according to various reports.
Back in early May, the Israeli Security Cabinet had approved a new massive offensive in Gaza. As part of that, Gazans were going to be pushed to southern Gaza, where they would receive aid that Hamas doesn’t steal. US Ambassador Mike Huckabee spoke about how the US would back a new aid mechanism.
Now it has been around two weeks since the new aid concept was presented to the public. The private security contractors arrived in Israel, with reports that they will be paid well for the complex work of securing the sites in Gaza.
Aerial photos published by open-source accounts online show that some berms have been created that could be linked to the new aid sites in Gaza. These areas were carved out of the desert in areas that are basically north of Rafah, between Rafah’s suburbs and the Mawasi humanitarian area that was set up last year.
Not enough is known about the plans for the aid distribution. Reports spoke of several areas being set up that could provide food for up to sixty percent of Gaza. This would mean that each site would provide aid for some 300,000 people.
Representatives of the families of those people would arrive to get the aid. That means each place might have to deal with 30,000 people collecting food products every week or every few days.
A Swiss website said on May 21 that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was Geneva-based. However, Ynet reported on May 25 that “Before distributing any food in Gaza and amid growing media scrutiny and possible investigation in Switzerland, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is shutting down; Humanitarian aid will now be handled solely by a US-based entity.” However, on May 26, reports said that Jake Wood, the head of the GHF, had resigned.
The overall perception is that the rollout of this new initiative has been done hastily and that it faces a lot of hurdles. The hurdles are on all sides. It will need support from other groups and the logistical footprint to be able to move the aid into Gaza.
It will then need to run the sites that have been carved out of the desert. This is also a hurdle. It’s complex to register all the people involved who get aid, to make sure those who receive it are who they say they are.
Securing the area is complex. Even though the private security hires involved may have a lot of military experience under their belts, it may not prepare them for Gaza. Gaza is different than Iraq or Afghanistan. There are unique challenges.
In addition, the IDF did not have to operate a kind of cordon around an aid facility throughout the war. Instead, the IDF orders civilians to leave areas before it operates near them. In general, civilians have been distanced from Israeli forces.
They are usually seen as a potential threat if they are in an area. How will the IDF facilitate tens of thousands of Gazans moving back and forth? If the IDF doesn’t search the Gazans, then they would be behind IDF lines, wandering on a dirt road in the hot sun toward a facility where contractors will need to search them.
Will the contractors be armed, and what rules of engagement will they have? If there is violence with the people receiving aid, who will deal with it? Will the IDF then be called in to help?
The concept seems very complex and beyond anything the IDF has ever done in the past. Running a program to provide food for a million people is not easy, even in peacetime. Running it while five IDF divisions are maneuvering in Gaza seems incredibly complex.
The fact that the group established to do this is already running into hurdles illustrates the complexity. It’s also not clear whether the US administration really wants to get involved in the sunk cost of dealing with Gaza long-term.
Talks of relocating Gazans seem premature
Despite talk of the “Trump plan” and turning Gaza into some Riviera, it doesn’t seem anyone is really serious about the challenges involved. Even talk in Israel about relocating Gazans was premature.
The talk portrayed them as being dumped in Libya or Somalia without any idea how the Gazans would get there or why Gazans would want to go from war-torn Gaza to war-torn Somalia. The whole discussion seemed to dehumanize the people who were the target of the resettlement.
Not every plan survives contact with the enemy. In this case, the plans for Gaza are not facing an enemy, but the reality of the complexity involved. None of those involved seems to have run an aid program for a million or two million people in wartime. All of those involved may be professionals, but the task in Gaza is herculean.
