The UN has 6,000 trucks with aid ready to roll into Gaza as humanitarian crisis intensifies
The Israeli ban on cooperating with Unwra (UN Relief and Works Agency) in Gaza, has, as predicted, greatly undermined the humanitarian operation to support the people of Gaza. The US-Israeli initiative to replace the UN-led aid distribution system, by setting up the GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation), has spectacularly failed.
Last week they were down to only one functioning distribution centre, located in the south. The amount of aid that got through was only a fraction of what was required. On June 12, 24 GHF staff heading to work on a bus were ambushed, allegedly by Hamas fighters. Eight were killed and an unknown number were wounded.
UN secretary General Antonio Guiterrez has repeated his appeal to the Israelis to allow Unrwa to resume its work in Gaza. The stated reason the Israelis had given for the ban was that Hamas has infiltrated Unrwa and that some staff members were involved in the attacks on Oct 7, 2023.
In response to these allegations, Unrwa suspended 19, and later dismissed, nine employees. Unrwa staff confirmed that the Israelis gave lists of names to Unrwa of the people allegedly involved but with little evidence to back up the allegations.
Nevertheless, the allegations could be true, as we cannot rule out what control Hamas may have over some local staff that work with UN agencies and international NGOs. However, Unrwa, which has a strict vetting procedure for job applicants, always notifies the names of its staff to the Israelis. The nine Unrwa employees sacked were found to be in breach of their contracts.
Unrwa, with its 12,000 staff, is the only agency equipped with the infrastructure and capacity to deliver the necessary aid to the Gazan population. It would take years to build up a comparable organisation that could replace it
The population of Gaza is already starving and desperate for food, clean water, shelter, and medical care.
The Israeli minister for Defence, Israel Katz's claim that Unrwa only delivered 13% of humanitarian aid in Gaza was misleading. It ignores the fact that Unrwa facilitated the other humanitarian aid organisations with its extensive and established infrastructure. Unrwa was also an important provider of educational needs for 650,000 children living in Gaza. It conducted over 17,000 medical consultations daily.
This week Phillippe Lazzarini, the head of Unrwa, gave an interview to CNN's Becky Anderson. She challenged him about Israeli allegations that Hamas makes demands on Unrwa and influences its decisions. He denied the allegations but did not elaborate on the context in which Unrwa in Gaza operates.
The fact is that Gaza is a very dangerous place. Even long before the current war, Gaza was a high-risk posting for international staff working for the UN and NGOs. They were often targeted by the various factions fighting it out in the shadows of Gaza's overpopulated apartment blocks.
These include many veterans of our Defence Forces and the gardaí. In 2007, former Irish Army captain John Ging survived two assassination attempts when he was director of Unrwa's then 11,000 staff in Gaza. Both attacks were carried out by armed gunmen. In the first attack, in March 2007, his car was hit with 12 bullets. In the second attack, that summer, one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded.
Human nature being what it is, there will always be a few local staff who are vulnerable to local pressure. That is why aid agencies will mainly use international staff to take the hard decisions.
Imposing an effective ban on Unrwa, along with previous statements made by prominent right wing elected representatives in Israel, leads to an obvious conclusion. Israel has initiated a process of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, to replace the Palestinian Gazans with Israeli settlers. Ethnic cleansing is just one step removed from genocide. Asked where should the Palestinians go, Israeli heritage minister Amihai Eliyahu said, they should go 'to Ireland, or the deserts'.
The latest proposals from the right wing of the Israeli Cabinet is to move the entire remaining population of Gaza (2.1m), to a 'humanitarian' camp, to be constructed in the bombed out town of Khan Yunis. The idea is that, after security clearance, they can move in, but must stay in. Echoes of 'Hotel California', where you can always check out, but you can never leave.
The Egyptians have come up with a better plan, to reconstruct Gaza, and, at the same time, build temporary accommodation for the population, close to their hometowns and villages.
This week the EU reached an agreement with Israel to open up multiple entry routes to Gaza, to facilitate a massive humanitarian operation. This is one very necessary step to address the humanitarian crisis
Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's proposals being negotiated in Doha commits both Hamas and Israel to respect whatever agreement is reached on aid to the civilian population. Aid will be distributed through agreed upon channels that will include the UN and the Red Crescent. The humanitarian crisis is so dire in Gaza that no aid should be refused, no matter what its provenance. This should include the GHF.
Unrwa, and the other associated UN agencies, are ready to respond. Some 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt, loaded with humanitarian aid, are ready to move to Gaza. It will be a big operation and require substantial security to implement.
According to UN sources, 875 people have now being killed, mostly by IDF, approaching aid centres seeking aid. Israel is the occupying power in Gaza and has legal responsibilities towards the security and welfare of the civilian population. To fulfil its responsibilities as an occupying power, Israeli forces have the right of freedom of movement and the right to defend themselves.
Israel does not recognise the ICC (International Criminal Count) but the ICC has jurisdiction in all the occupied Palestinian Territories in respect of war crimes and crimes against humanity. To continue to be recognised as a functioning democracy, Israel's legal institutions, both military and civil, should investigate and prosecute its own war criminals.
Initially, when reports circulated that Israeli troops were shooting people seeking aid from the distribution centres, most defence analysts assumed the Israeli soldiers were young inexperienced soldiers panicking in fear. That is not the case. They are under orders. Who gave the orders? What were the orders? Either way, the deaths of these pot-wielding family-providers underline the need for a complete disengagement of forces if any ceasefire is to have a chance of success.
A multinational peacekeeping force should be deployed in Gaza to supervise the withdrawal of the IDF and take over security on an interim basis. Hamas should hand over its weapons to the international force and be allowed to go into permanent exile under a flag of truce.
Dorcha Lee is a retired Army Colonel and defence analyst, with a wide experience of UN service in the Middle East
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