Short-lived relief for Gaza as Israel bristles at aid entering north
A rare moment of relief in Gaza, as an aid lorry entered the north arranged by local tribal leaders, has swiftly turned to recriminations as Israel accuses Hamas of stealing supplies.
A few dozen aid lorries entered northern Gaza on Wednesday and 'Hamas had no role in the security arrangements', Mukhtar Salman Al Mughani, a senior tribal leader and member of the Higher Committee for Tribal Affairs, told The National.
Some Gazans received their first parcel in four months. The head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, separately announced on Thursday that it had delivered its first medical supplies into Gaza since early March, including reserves of blood and plasma.
The aid in the north "entered through full co-ordination between tribal leaders and international entities,' Mr Al Mughani said. Photos showed armed clan members sitting on board the aid lorries. The delivery was quickly followed by Israeli accusations that Hamas had seized control of the operation – claims categorically denied by those on the ground.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement saying they had instructed the military 'to present within 48 hours an operational plan to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid'.
Israeli network Channel 12 reported that aid deliveries had stopped and would not resume until such a plan was presented. It said the joint statement came after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to quit the government.
'The Israeli army is seeking to entrench chaos in the strip by obstructing aid efforts,' Amjad Al Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza, told The National. 'The success achieved yesterday in northern Gaza is a scene they do not want to see at all. That's why we saw the defamatory statement claiming that Hamas is controlling the aid.'
Mr Al Shawa said 45 aid lorries arrived in the north and that distribution began on Thursday, based on pre-approved lists of beneficiaries. He called for the establishment of a secure humanitarian corridor to enable sustained and safe delivery of assistance to Gaza's devastated population.
Northern Gaza receives aid via UN humanitarian organisations and the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has no presence there. The GHF, whose distribution points have been the scene of killings by Israeli forces, as well as stampedes and degrading conditions, only operates up to the Netzarim Corridor, which roughly separates the top third of the strip from the rest of Gaza. It says aid is still being delivered at its distribution points.
Mr Al Mughani said Israel 'is simply looking for an excuse to halt the entry of aid'. He said tribal leaders took full responsibility for organising and securing the aid convoys and ensuring their delivery to designated warehouses.
He dismissed the Israeli narrative as 'false and completely baseless'. The amount of aid that entered Gaza 'is barely a drop in the ocean of immense needs', he said. 'These lies aim to incite discord and prevent starving civilians from receiving even the most basic relief.'
The distribution process, according to the tribal leaders, is now in the hands of internationally recognised organisations. 'Our role was to secure the delivery and ensure it reached the people safely,' said Akef Al Masri, commissioner general of the Tribal Affairs Authority. 'We affirm that the distribution is being carried out by relevant international and local institutions in accordance with global standards,'
Mr Al Masri also criticised Israel's continued refusal to allow UN agency UNRWA to participate in the relief effort, calling it a 'blatant attempt to eliminate its presence' in Gaza. He said tribal authorities stand ready to support and protect UNRWA's operations.
For everyday Gazans, the resumption of aid, however small, has brought a moment of hope.
'I'm a widow with six children. None of them can go out or earn money. We've been suffering in silence,' Sawsan Hameed, 43, from the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, told The National 'This morning, I finally got a message from the World Food Programme asking me to come and collect a parcel. It was the first message I received in four months.'
The parcel contained basic food items – things her family could no longer afford in Gaza's economic spiral and amid skyrocketing market prices. 'We were overjoyed,' she said. 'And it only happened because the tribal leaders managed to secure the aid and bring it safely.'
She, like many others, hopes this new mechanism continues. 'We just want a dignified life, and for the aid to keep flowing. The occupation must be pressured to stop blocking it.'
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