Can Israel's aid strategy survive the minefield of Gaza's humanitarian crisis?
Last Saturday, the IDF said it would begin to facilitate more humanitarian aid entering Gaza in an effort to improve the humanitarian aid situation in the area.
The IDF began air drops and cooperated with other countries in the region regarding the provision of aid and air drops. This came after the Israeli political leadership decided to act and improve the aid situation under pressure from abroad.
'In accordance with directives from the political echelon and following a situational assessment held this evening, the IDF has begun a series of actions aimed at improving the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip and to refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip,' the IDF said.
Depending on which commentator one reads, the issue of aid is either 'propaganda,' and Gaza doesn't need more aid, or it is important to massively increase the amount of aid to undermine Hamas.
Understanding the situation in Gaza
There is lack of clarity on basic details regarding the situation in Gaza. This is largely because international media outlets are not able to access Gaza. Therefore, there is very little reporting that can be deemed reliable or independent from Gaza.
While some Israeli media outlets are invited to access areas controlled by the IDF, and a handful of people have been able to go to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) humanitarian aid distribution sites, most of Gaza is off-limits.
Hamas continues to control about a quarter of Gaza. This includes the refugee camps in central Gaza, parts of Gaza City in the north, and Al Mawasi in the south.
Hamas controls the local health authorities, meaning it is hard to know whether the information from Gaza is reliable. There is no other independent reporting authority regarding the humanitarian situation or medical situation.
When Hamas says large numbers of people have been killed, as it claimed happened on Wednesday near Zikim in northern Gaza, or when it claims that people are killed accessing the GHF sites, there is no good way to confirm the details.
As such, the question of whether there is famine in Gaza is unclear. Nevertheless, there appears to be a global consensus that the situation must be improved.
US President Donald Trump has spoken about the situation. Israel has heard the concerns and tried to act in late July to change things.
What Israel is now doing is reverting to what the situation was like in late 2023 and in 2024. Aid corridors are being created, and daylight tactical pauses and ceasefires are taking place.
This basically means there is now a ceasefire during the daytime in the areas where Hamas is in control and where two million Gazans are concentrated.
THE GAZANS had to go to these areas because Israel has called to evacuate them from the 75% of Gaza controlled by the IDF. As such, Hamas continues to control the lives of almost all the civilians in Gaza.
In the seam areas between Hamas and the IDF, it appears that many trucks moving aid are looted. Videos have shown the looting. A satellite image also captured a line of trucks being waylaid by vast numbers of people.
This is similar to the situation in the spring of 2024 when dozens of people were killed trying to get flour packages from trucks.
The February 29, 2024, 'flour massacre' led to the US seeking to send a temporary pier to Gaza. The pier failed, however, and it became one more scene in the roller-coaster ride of aid issues in Gaza.
After the flour massacre, the IDF was asked to also facilitate more aid entering Gaza. A new access road was paved near Zikim in northern Gaza. Aid also came in via other areas.
Some aid came via Gate 96 near Be'eri, but most had to be trucked from Kerem Shalom up Salah al-Din Road to enter areas such as Khan Yunis, Mawasi, and the central refugee camps.
It is largely forgotten now, but in 2024, the big concern was about aid reaching northern Gaza. In essence, because aid came from southern Gaza, it was not reaching northern Gaza.
The IDF controlled the entire Netzarim Corridor at the time, stretching across Gaza and cutting off Gaza City from the rest of Gaza. After the January 2025 ceasefire, the IDF left the corridor. Then it returned in March and April.
In March, when the ceasefire was not extended, Israel decided to cut off aid completely to Gaza. This lasted until mid-May when Israel decided to let aid back in. This coincided with the launch of Operation Gideon's Chariots.
'On the recommendation of the IDF and based on the operational need to enable the expansion of the military operation to defeat Hamas, Israel will allow a basic quantity of food to be brought in for the population in order to make certain that no starvation crisis develops in the Gaza Strip,' the Prime Minister's Office said. 'Such a crisis would endanger the continuation of Operation 'Gideon's Chariots' to defeat Hamas.'
On May 26, GHF began its work. US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had discussed the GHF initiative earlier in May. At the time, it was assumed that the new initiative might feed up to 60% of the Gazans, but that would require other organizations to continue to meet their needs.
By this Wednesday, the GHF said it had delivered 98 million meals to Gaza. The GHF has two distribution sites in southern Gaza and one in the Netzarim Corridor area, called Wadi Gazza.
US Envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Israel to examine the humanitarian issue and others he will be focused on. This is important, because the Trump administration appears keen on increasing aid and also the number of sites where aid is sent.
THE SCENES from Gaza showing how aid is distributed continue to make it clear that more changes need to be made. The GHF model of moving boxes of aid to three sites has been improved over the past two months. There are more clear signs and methods to enable the people to get the aid.
Nevertheless, in the heat of summer, when heat waves cause people to dehydrate quickly, having people walk long distances for aid is not the best long-term solution. Air drops are also not a long-term solution for Gaza.
Moving aid by truck is the easiest method. The trucks are being waylaid on their way to bring the aid, however, and large numbers of people – so many that the crowds can be seen from space – are getting to the trucks before they reach the warehouses.
In some cases, armed men are on the trucks, and this is obviously not an ideal method. People shouldn't have to rush to grab aid from a truck or walk for kilometers in the heat to get food for their families.
The population of Gaza is young with large families. This means that the challenge of getting aid falls hardest on vulnerable families with young children. The aid roller-coaster has left these people without clarity on where their meals come from next.
One method suggested is to send more aid and undermine Hamas, because huge amounts will reduce the price Hamas may 'tax' or charge for the aid. It is not clear how much aid is stolen by Hamas or various clans and gangs.
At the same time, it is not clear what the future is for the GHF. Will it change its model or continue to do the same? If it continues to do the same, will funding continue for months or years?
Another question is whether the civilians in Gaza will ever be able to leave the areas controlled by Hamas. Having them all stuck under Hamas rule has perpetuated Hamas rule and Hamas control.
In most other battles and wars in history, civilians have not had to all be stuck under groups like Hamas.
For instance, in the battle of Mosul, Iraq, the civilians were able to leave the ISIS-controlled areas and move to internally displaced persons camps. In Nazi Germany, the allies moved through areas with civilians, leaving them to continue their lives as the Nazis were defeated.
Gaza is unique in having almost all civilians trapped under Hamas for 21 months. This leads to the endless crisis of aid provision. It remains to be seen if this can be changed and whether Gaza will be liberated from Hamas.
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