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New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
What to Know About Aid Getting to Gaza
A controversial new aid center in Gaza began its work on Tuesday, with chaos and confusion marring the first days of operation. The group running it was conceived by Israelis and the plan was backed by Israel, but the United Nations and many other humanitarian organizations are boycotting it, criticizing its lack of independence. The criticism is another sign of Israel's growing isolation. Britain, France, and Canada issued a rare public reprimand of Israel on May 20, demanding that it cease its widening military offensive in Gaza. That laid bare growing rifts between Israel and its traditional Western allies, and prompted a furious Israeli response. Much of the criticism has focused on Israel's decision to block aid to Gaza for more than two months beginning in March, exacerbating already dire conditions in the enclave. Jonathan Whittall, a senior U.N. humanitarian official, said nearly 50 people had been injured in the chaotic fray on Tuesday. He called the Israeli attempt to take control of humanitarian aid distribution for Palestinians in Gaza part of 'an assault on their human dignity.' On Thursday, the group running the new aid operation said warning shots and smoke bombs were fired to disperse crowds at a distribution hub it had just opened in central Gaza. Is any aid getting into Gaza? The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the new group running aid distribution, said on Thursday that about 17,200 food boxes had been distributed in the enclave so far, with each one feeding '5.5 people for 3.5 days,' totaling more than 1.8 million meals. The flow of aid is expected to increase daily, it added. But the United Nations said the supplies constitute a mere trickle of assistance in face of the needs of a population of about two million people at risk of famine. Where tent camps are filling up again in Gaza Following fresh evacuation orders, people have fled once again to Mawasi, a small strip of land where Israel has repeatedly instructed Palestinians to go during the war. Feb. 15 Detail May 17 500 ft. Where tent camps are filling up again in Gaza Following fresh evacuation orders, people have fled again to Mawasi, a small strip of land where Israel has repeatedly instructed Palestinians to go during the war. Feb. 15 Detail May 17 500 ft. Source: Satellite images by Planet Labs By Samuel Granados Israeli military ground activity in Gaza in the past week A B Gaza City Mediterranean Sea GAZA STRIP C Khan Younis ISRAEL F D E Rafah EGYPT Near Gaza City A B Graded area Recently cleared areas Cleared areas New vehicle tracks Near Khan Younis C D Cleared areas Cleared areas New vehicle tracks Near Rafah E F Cleared areas Cleared areas Israeli military ground activity in Gaza in the past week Near Gaza City A B A Graded area B Gaza City Cleared areas Recently cleared areas New vehicle tracks GAZA STRIP C Near Khan Younis Khan Younis C D D E Cleared areas F Cleared areas Rafah New vehicle tracks Near Rafah E F Cleared areas Cleared areas Source: Satellite images taken on May 25 by Planet Labs By Samuel Granados Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
UN condemns Israel's new aid program in Gaza, after chaotic start
Israel had barred humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for more than two months, causing widespread hunger, before allowing shipments of food, fuel and other goods to begin flowing in last week. But desperately needed relief -- either from the old U.N.-run system or the new Israeli-designed one -- has yet to reach many people in Gaza. On Wednesday night, large crowds of Palestinians broke into a warehouse belonging to the U.N. World Food Program, the agency said in a statement. 'Initial reports indicate two people died and several were injured in the tragic incident,' it said in a statement. Advertisement The episodes raised further questions over Israel's latest attempt to overhaul the provision of aid to those in Gaza, in what Israeli leaders call an attempt to sideline Hamas. The U.N. and many other humanitarian groups have boycotted the initiative, which has also drawn anger from many of Israel's Western backers. Advertisement Israel has also been threatening a major ground invasion, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised will be a decisive blow against Hamas. But the Palestinian armed group has refused to surrender despite well more than a year and a half of devastating bombardment and ground combat, fighting a dogged war of attrition and recruiting thousands of new fighters to its ranks. Jonathan Whittall, a senior U.N. humanitarian official, said dozens of people had reportedly been injured in the chaotic fray Tuesday. He called the Israeli attempt to seize control of the humanitarian aid for Palestinians part of 'an assault on their human dignity.' 'Yesterday, we saw tens of thousands of desperate people -- under fire -- storming a militarized distribution point established on the rubble of their homes,' Whittall told reporters in a news briefing Wednesday. The new aid operation, known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had set up two distribution hubs so far and provided thousands of aid parcels without incident Wednesday. But European diplomats further criticized both the program and Israel's offensive. The foundation denied that any civilians or aid workers had been hurt in the process on either day. 'The disproportionate use of force and the deaths of civilians cannot be tolerated,' said Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, adding that aid 'must never be politicized or militarized.' Under the new Israeli-designed system, four aid sites in southern Gaza are being secured by Israeli soldiers and overseen by private U.S. contractors. Previously, the United Nations largely coordinated the distribution of aid in the enclave, but Israeli officials have been eager to bypass the world body, accusing it of anti-Israel bias and of failing to prevent Hamas from hoarding supplies. Advertisement U.N. officials have boycotted the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, saying that it fundamentally violates humanitarian principles. They say Israel's vision would replace hundreds of U.N. distribution sites with just four, requiring many Palestinians to travel miles and pass through a cordon of Israeli troops to obtain aid. As of Wednesday, two distribution hubs were operational and more than 14,000 parcels of aid had been distributed. That sharply contrasted with the chaos that erupted Tuesday, when thousands of Palestinians hoping to receive food had arrived at one of the hubs in what remains of the southern city of Rafah. Pushing and shoving, some later burst through the site's narrow fences, leading Israeli soldiers to fire warning shots, according to the Israeli military. Jalal al-Homs, a displaced Palestinian in Khan Younis, witnessed the crowds and Israeli gunfire Tuesday when he sought to receive aid from the hub in Rafah's Tel al-Sultan neighborhood. He ultimately left hours later without getting a box of food for his family, with whom he is living in a tent. On Wednesday, al-Homs, 35, said he had tried again to head for one of the aid hubs. As he approached, he said he saw crowds milling about, all hoping for food. Afraid the situation could again unravel, he went back home, he said. 'There's no organization,' al-Homs said in a phone call. 'I was scared that today would be the same as yesterday, which was disastrous.' Netanyahu sought to characterize the scramble in a Tuesday night speech as a brief loss of control in the otherwise successful launch of the new initiative. Advertisement Israel blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza for more than two months, causing widespread hunger among Palestinians. Israeli officials charged that much of the food, fuel and medicine flowing through the mainline U.N.-coordinated system had fallen under the control of Hamas. Whittall said there was 'no evidence' that large amounts of U.N.-coordinated aid had been diverted by Hamas. He said the main obstacle to distributing aid was armed gangs in Gaza, many of whom were stealing aid 'under the watch of Israeli forces.' 'It doesn't have to be this way. We need our existing system to be enabled,' he added. The Trump administration has been pressing to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that would begin with a two-month initial truce. On Wednesday, Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, said that the White House was readying a fresh proposal, adding that he 'had some very good feelings about getting to a long-term ceasefire.' This article originally appeared in
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Trump-backed Gaza aid plan marred by stampede
At least 47 people were injured in the melee, most from gunshots, the U.N. said. "This is not humanitarianism," Jonathan Whittall, head of office at the United Nations' Palestinian affairs agency, said at a May 28 briefing. He said the new aid system continues "collective punishment of Palestinians" and is an "assault on their human dignity." More: Pope Leo calls for ceasefire in Gaza, laments 'cries' of parents of dead children Mistrust of the UN The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - the murky, fledgling organization distributing food aid - said its staff, anticipating disorder, had "intentionally relaxed its security protocols to safeguard against crowd reactions to finally receiving food." Supported by the Trump administration and Israel, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has pitched its "secure distribution sites," staffed with paramilitary contractors, as the solution to Gaza's humanitarian crisis and Israel's distrust of the U.N. Between two operating sites, 14,550 food boxes - each with enough food for 5.5 people over 3.5 days - had been distributed, as of May 28. But the aid organizations the new foundation wants to replace say its model of militarized aid distribution and its ties to Israel violate basic humanitarian principles. Those fears come down to "complaints about style," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said at a May 27 briefing. "Unfortunately, there are many parties who wish to see GHF fail," the foundation said. Foundation director resigns over neutrality The foundation is off to a rocky start. The day before it began distributing food aid, Jake Wood, a former Marine who founded the humanitarian response group Team Rubicon, resigned as head of the foundation, citing concerns it not operate with impartiality. "It is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence," Wood wrote in a statement. A member of the group told USA TODAY that Wood felt the aid plan could not run independently of Israel's military operations. Humanitarian groups in Gaza had long aired similar critiques. "This is a plan that has not demonstrated that it would be fully impartial, or that it would provide enough aid to all those in need in Gaza to prevent looting and diversion for profit," said Sean Carroll, president and CEO of U.S. aid group Anera. The New York Times reported on May 24 that the foundation originated from a group of Israeli and American military and business leaders as a plan to wrest control of Gaza from Hamas and replace the U.N. as the primary distributor of aid in Gaza. Members of the foundation and U.S. officials, including U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, have insisted it operates independent of Israel. "The Israelis are going to be involved in providing necessary military security because it is a war zone, but they will not be involved in the distribution of the food or even bringing the food into Gaza," Huckabee told reporters in Jerusalem on May 9. Israel has been increasingly vocal in its support of the plan. "We are taking control of the food distribution in the Gaza Strip," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 28. In a statement released after Wood's resignation, the foundation said it was "disappointed" by his departure. "Unfortunately, from the moment GHF was announced, those who benefit from the status quo have been more focused on tearing this apart than on getting aid in," the statement said. Wood and GHF did not return requests for comment. Suspicion from humanitarian groups Israel lifted its blockade on all humanitarian aid into Gaza early last week, allowing the first trucks in more than two months on May 19 to trickle into the war-ravaged enclave. Around 100 trucks have entered daily since then, but humanitarians say it's a fraction of what is needed to prevent famine. "It's a drop in the bucket," Cindy McCain, director of the World Food Program, said May 25 on CBS' "Face the Nation." Israel cut off humanitarian aid in early March, after a ceasefire with Hamas broke down. As of mid-May, 470,000 people there face catastrophic hunger, and the entire population is experiencing acute food insecurity, according to WFP. As aid groups clamored for access, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation stepped onto the scene. In addition to Wood, the foundation's board included Nate Mook, a former CEO of World Central Kitchen and Bill Miller, a former U.N. director, and corporate executives. Former military and intelligence personnel were also involved, chief among them Phil Reilly, a veteran CIA paramilitary officer turned security contractor. In calls aid workers said were led by Aryeh Lightstone, an aide to President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, the foundation sought to win over humanitarian organizations already on the ground. They did not succeed. As aid workers learned more about the plan, they concluded it was at best ineffective and at worst risked militarizing aid distribution to serve Israel's wartime goals. Suspicion grew that the organization was an Israeli government front. Reports that the foundation would use biometric technology to identify and track Palestinians sparked alarm. "I don't see it happening. How do you serve 2 million people overnight?" Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam's policy lead for Palestine, said, citing the foundation's limited distribution sites and lack of experience. The plan is "a process of militarizing and controlling aid to a much higher degree," said Joseph Belliveau, executive director of Illinois-based MedGlobal. People will fear coming to a distribution site that is "under the gun," he said. According to a publicly available planning document and a member of the foundation, the group's model of securitized aid "hubs" was meant to address Israel's accusations that Hamas loots aid, while getting more assistance into Gaza. In her Face the Nation interview, McCain said there was no evidence of Hamas stealing food aid in the most current round of distribution. She did not address previous rounds. "This doesn't have anything to do with Hamas or any kind of organized crime," McCain, the widow of Republican Sen. John McCain, said in the interview. "It has simply to do with the fact these people are starving to death." The foundation also ignited fears among some humanitarians that it would work in tandem with Israel's military operations to forcibly displace Palestinians from north Gaza into the southern part of the enclave. "The biggest fear is that, with a concentration of food provision in the south, it will be complicit in forced displacement, which is a war crime," said Carroll. Israel launched a new military operation - dubbed "Gideon's chariots" - in Gaza earlier in May that left more than 500 people dead in the span of eight days. It was unclear how many were civilians and how many were combatants. On May 26, the day the foundation launched its aid operation, at least 45 people were killed throughout the Gaza strip. More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hamas launched an Oct. 7, 2023, raid on southern Israel that took 1,200 lives. Netanyahu said May 19 that Israel would achieve "complete victory" and control the entire enclave; Israeli officials have outlined a goal to push Palestinians to Gaza's south. Palestinians in northern Gaza have received evacuation orders in recent days. Khalidi said her colleagues were told by the Israeli military to evacuate from northern Gaza and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Military contractors to guard aid distribution The new foundation would first establish four "secure distribution sites" - each one to serve 300,000 people with "pre-packaged rations" of 1750-calorie meals, "hygiene kits and medical supplies," according to the initial plan. Armored vehicles would transport the supplies to the hubs, which would be guarded by armed security contractors. The aid would "move through tightly controlled corridors, monitored in real time to prevent diversion," according to a planning document. The firms providing security include Safe Reach Solutions, founded by Reilly, and UG Solutions, which was tasked earlier this year with guarding the Netzarim Corridor, a road that runs across the middle of Gaza, according to reports. Safe Reach Solutions has posted a job listing for a "humanitarian liaison officer" and UG Solutions for an "international humanitarian security specialist" on LinkedIn in recent weeks. A member of the foundation said the group may seek assistance from Egypt or other countries in the region, since almost none of the contractors speaks Arabic. It is also unclear how the plan is funded. The foundation registered in Switzerland in February - according to its planning document, its Swiss branch would "address donors who would prefer to participate outside of the U.S. structure." TRIAL International, a Switzerland-based legal nonprofit, filed legal submissions on May 23 asking for the foundation's funding to be investigated to determine if it is operating "in line with Swiss law and international humanitarian law," according to a press release. 'Too weak to cry' Khalidi and other aid workers say the situation in Gaza is unthinkably dire. Although aid trucks had entered, food distribution has been minimal. Only four bakeries were able to operate in Gaza due to lack of fuel as of May 24, according to Khalidi. Meanwhile, health workers in the enclave reported to her that they saw "children with symptoms of malnutrition and severe acute malnutrition" and "numerous cases of severe diarrhea." Children are "so hungry that they're too weak to cry," she said. Belliveau said that, as of May 23, no MedGlobal trucks had gotten into Gaza, and overall, far less than the promised 100 trucks had reached Gazans. The organization's doctors and nurses are already on the ground, but they need MedGlobal's medicine and therapeutic food to be allowed in, he said. "The real solution here is to lift the blockade and just let us do our do our jobs," he said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gaza warehouse broken into by 'hordes of hungry people', says WFP
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says that "hordes of hungry people" have broken into a food supply warehouse in central Gaza. Two people are reported to have died and several others injured in the incident, the programme said, adding that it was still confirming details. Video footage from AFP news agency showed crowds breaking into the Al-Ghafari warehouse in Deir Al-Balah and taking bags of flour and cartons of food as gunshots rang out. It was not immediately clear where the gunshots came from. In a statement, the WFP said humanitarian needs in Gaza had "spiralled out of control" after an almost three-month Israeli blockade that was eased last week. The WFP said that food supplies had been pre-positioned at the warehouse for distribution. The programme added: "Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve." The WFP said it had "consistently warned of alarming and deteriorating conditions on the ground, and the risks imposed by limiting humanitarian aid to hungry people in desperate need of assistance". Israeli authorities said on Wednesday that 121 trucks belonging to the UN and the international community carrying humanitarian aid including flour and food were transferred into Gaza. Israel began to allow a limited amount of aid into Gaza last week. A controversial US and Israeli-backed group - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) - was also established as a private aid distribution system. It uses US security contractors and bypasses the UN, which said it was unworkable and unethical. The US and Israeli governments say the GHF, which has set up four distribution centres in southern and central Gaza, is preventing aid from being stolen by Hamas, which the armed group denies doing. The UN Humans Right Office said 47 people were injured on Tuesday after people overran one of the GHF distribution sites in the southern city of Rafah, a day after it began working there. Another senior UN official told journalists on Wednesday that desperate crowds were looting cargo off of UN aid trucks. Jonathan Whittall, the head of the UN's humanitarian office for the occupied Palestinian territories, also said there was no evidence that Hamas was diverting aid coordinated through credible humanitarian channels. He said the real theft of relief goods since the beginning of the war had been carried out by criminal gangs which the Israeli army "allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point in Gaza". The UN has argued that a surge of aid like the one during the recent ceasefire between Israeli and Hamas would reduce the threat of looting by hungry people and allow it to make full use of its well-established network of distribution across the Gaza Strip. EU says Israeli strikes in Gaza 'go beyond what is necessary' to fight Hamas Israel PM says Hamas's Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been killed Dozens injured by Israeli gunfire as crowds overwhelmed Gaza aid site, UN says
Scoop
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Gaza: UN Official Warns Of ‘Assault On Dignity' As Blockade Cripples Humanitarian Response
The coming days in Gaza are set to be critical, the UN warned on Saturday, as humanitarian operations are severely curtailed amid an intensifying blockade, escalating violence, and soaring humanitarian needs. Speaking to journalists in Gaza City, Jonathan Whittall, local Head of Office for the UN aid coordination wing, OCHA, painted a dire picture of life under what he called a 'total and complete blockade' now approaching its third month. 'The coming days in Gaza are going to be critical. Today people are not surviving in Gaza, those that aren't being killed with bombs and bullets are slowly dying,' he said. Whittall stressed that humanitarian agencies are unable to meet the soaring needs of civilians due to the collapse of supply lines. Hospitals are overwhelmed, but medicines and equipment are running out. People are going hungry, but food warehouses are empty and bakeries are closing. Clean water is desperately needed, but water wells are inaccessible. He noted that solid waste is piling up in the streets with no equipment to remove it, and that rescue efforts after airstrikes are impossible without fuel and machinery. Displaced families are forced to live in rubble without shelter materials, and fishermen are being shot at sea, while humanitarian organisations lack the resources to assist them. 'Nowhere in Gaza today is safe', he said. He added that children need to learn, but schools have been destroyed or are inaccessible, and that education supplies are not available. Prices of the remaining goods in Gaza continue to rise, but there is no cash available. There is no cooking gas or fuel, forcing families to burn trash to generate some energy. A war 'without any limits' 'This is not only about humanitarian needs, but it's about dignity. There is an assault on people's dignity in Gaza today,' he warned. 'We also know that humanitarian workers, first responders, you as journalists, should be protected, like all civilians, but we're being killed in a war that appears to be fought without any limits,' he added. Whittall emphasised that the situation in Gaza does not even resemble a war. 'People in Gaza are telling me that they feel like it's the deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life in plain sight, for all to see, documented every day by you as journalists,' he said. He described the devastation witnessed daily — including children's bodies thrown by explosions, families burnt alive, and colleagues killed — as part of what he termed 'everyday atrocities.' 'As humanitarians we can see that aid is being weaponised through its denial,' he warned. 'There's no justification for the denial of humanitarian assistance. And humanitarian aid should never be weaponised.' Despite the catastrophic conditions, he stressed that humanitarian organisations are continuing to operate where possible, but 'we have less and less and less supplies and less and less capacity to be able to meet the growing and growing needs that are intensifying across Gaza.' 'Lives depend on the blockade being lifted, on aid being allowed to enter into Gaza, on the ceasefire being reinstated,' he said, calling for real accountability rather than waiting for history to judge the international community's response. Hunger and malnutrition surging In a separate statement, OCHA warned of a 'severe decline' in food availability across Gaza, as malnutrition rates escalate rapidly, particularly among children. A UN partner organisation recently screened around 1,300 children in northern Gaza and identified over 80 cases of acute malnutrition, representing more than double the rate recorded in previous weeks. 'Nutrition partners report a critical shortage of supplies due to the obstruction of aid entry and challenges in transporting essential materials within Gaza,' OCHA said. Access to key facilities, including UNICEF 's main warehouse in Rafah, remains heavily restricted. Journalists who visited the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) main warehouses this week found them largely empty of food supplies, including flour. Call for accountability and action 'Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,' UNRWA said in a separate statement, stressing that international law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, the obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. The agency reiterated its call for a renewed ceasefire, the dignified release of all hostages, and the immediate, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza.
