NDTV Exclusive: Who Feeds Gaza? Inside The US-Israel Aid Distribution Model

NDTV

9 hours ago

New Delhi:
Nearly all of Gaza's livestock has been wiped out. Local meat production has collapsed. Food shipments remain heavily restricted. And while Israel blames the Hamas militant group for hijacking aid, many humanitarian agencies say Israel's blockade is strangling the civilian population in the besieged Palestinian enclave. Caught in the middle are Gaza's 2.3 million residents, whose access to essentials increasingly depends on how logistics, security, and politics play out in Jerusalem.
Speaking exclusively with NDTV, Israeli embassy spokesperson Guy Nir gave a rundown on how aid distribution works in a region that has seen near-total devastation ever since Hamas' multi-frontal attack on Israel on October 7 in 2023.
Mechanics Of Aid Delivery: Who Distributes What?
At the core of the new aid structure is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed non-profit organisation that Israel says it supports but does not control.
"The people who are distributing the aid are the GHF," said Mr Nir. "The IDF - the Israeli Defence Force - is coordinating their entry and security while they're in Gaza. There are four distribution centres. GHF is an American-backed NGO. Israel is not the one distributing the aid, but we are 100 per cent facilitating and arranging the security of the GHF to do this."
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A recent Reuters report claimed violence at aid delivery sites, specifically an incident in Rafah where local health officials say Israeli fire killed at least three Palestinians near a GHF site.
"Both the GHF and the IDF released statements that there was no shooting in or around the aid distribution centres. These reports are misleading," he said. "There are masked gunmen who are Hamas, who are shooting at the Gazans because Hamas doesn't want this operation to succeed. The thing is, for the first year and a half, most of the aid trucks that went into Gaza were looted. Hamas looted about 80 per cent of all trucks."
According to Mr Nir, Hamas is selling the contents to civilians at inflated prices. This system, he claims, allowed Hamas to exert economic and political control over the population.
"The amount of humanitarian aid that came into Gaza during the first year and a half was astronomical," Mr Nir said. "We delivered over 3,500 calories per person per day. If everybody ate everything we brought in, they would be fat. The new distribution system allows us to give the aid directly to the people, without Hamas being involved."
Preventing Aid Theft: The "New" Distribution System
Israel had suspended traditional UN food deliveries. Instead, an alternative was introduced on May 27 called the Secure Distribution Site 1 (SDS1) model, developed by the GHF.
"We went to a new method with the GHF," Mr Nir explained
This method, according to Mr Nir, involves smaller, family-sized boxes rather than bulk commodities like 100-kg rice bags, which were more vulnerable to mass looting.
"We're talking about one box with, say, rice, pasta, of oil and other materials, enough food for one family for one week," Mr Nir said. "Looting these small boxes is much more difficult. We are still seeing some looting from Hamas, but maybe 5 per cent or less."
He conceded that the system is "not perfect," but said it is an improvement.
The Blockade And International Criticism
When pressed on international criticism of Israel's blockade and its humanitarian implications, Mr Nir responded with a redirection.
"The responsibility for the people of Gaza is Hamas - like the responsibility for the people of Israel is the IDF," he said.
He accused Hamas of having spent 20 years diverting foreign aid to build "underground tunnels" and fund its "terror infrastructure", while neglecting education, health, and infrastructure for the civilian population.
"Israel cares more about the Gaza population than Hamas," he said. "Israel is the one providing the aid, Hamas is just shooting them."
On the matter of Gazan access to work inside Israel, he cited a key turning point.
"Up to October 6, 20,000 Gazans had work permits and came to Israel daily. They were getting Israeli salaries, helping their families, their economy," he said. "October 7 changed all of that."
Mr Nir rejected the idea that Israel should be held responsible for the economic and humanitarian toll since then.
"Why should we allow terrorists to come into Israel, as we did up until October 6?" he asked,
Local Partners: Safe Reach Solutions
The SDS1, located in Rafah, features caged corridors forcing Palestinians into narrow queues, guarded perimeters manned by Safe Reach Solutions, a US-based private security firm, which has been accused of carrying out intelligence operations in Gaza using Israeli data.
"There are four aid distributions in Gaza. The GHF comes every day with IDF security to access these locations, prepare the distribution, and then the gates are open to allow all the population to come and collect the boxes. At the end of the day, we close the centre and go back across the border to Israel."
On SRS, Mr Nir offered only limited insights.
"From what I understand, they are responsible for facilitating the distribution and protecting the area so that it can be done safely, and to prevent ammunition from reaching Hamas.
Responding to reports that SRS is involved in intelligence operations, as suggested in some Israeli and international media, he said: "That's part of the responsibility. But from what I understand, they are not a defence force."
What Happens After Hamas?
According Gaza officials, at least 4,402 people have been killed since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18 after a brief ceasefire announcement. The subsequent military action has taken the war's overall death count, according to Hamas, to 54,677. "The majority of them are Hamas terrorists and operatives, and victims of Hamas' misfired rockets," said Mr Nir.
"We are open to multiple solutions. We are not going to govern Gaza. We don't want to be in Gaza," he explained. "[The Palestinians] need to govern themselves, as long as it's not a terror organisation that is terrorising its own citizens and terrorising us in the process. As long as there is no threat to Israel, we are okay with that."
There have been reports of Israel considering clan-based governance models, similar to what exists in some Gulf states, but Mr Nir said Israel would not interfere with internal arrangements, so long as they ensure stability and security.
"They just need to find something that works and is of no harm to their neighbours," he said.
Asked whether Israel would engage with a reformed Palestinian political body in Gaza, one that excludes Hamas, Mr Nir said: "Of course. We want Gaza to be independent. We want Gaza to be successful. We don't want Gaza to be a threat to Israel. We are willing to cooperate with a reasonable government on their side."