Groups fear Israeli proposal for controlling aid in Gaza will forcibly
displace people
[May 03, 2025]
By SAM MEDNICK and LEE KEATH
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza for
two months and says it won’t allow food, fuel, water or medicine into
the besieged territory until it puts in place a system giving it control
over the distribution.
But officials from the U.N. and aid groups say proposals Israel has
floated to use its military to distribute vital supplies are untenable.
These officials say they would allow military and political objectives
to impede humanitarian goals, put restrictions on who is eligible to
give and receive aid, and could force large numbers of Palestinians to
move — which would violate international law.
Israel has not detailed any of its proposals publicly or put them down
in writing. But aid groups have been documenting their conversations
with Israeli officials, and The Associated Press obtained more than 40
pages of notes summarizing Israel’s proposals and aid groups’ concerns
about them.
Aid groups say Israel shouldn’t have any direct role in distributing aid
once it arrives in Gaza, and most are saying they will refuse to be part
of any such system.
“Israel has the responsibility to facilitate our work, not weaponize
it,” said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency that oversees
the coordination of aid Gaza.
“The humanitarian community is ready to deliver, and either our work is
enabled ... or Israel will have the responsibility to find another way
to meet the needs of 2.1 million people and bear the moral and legal
consequences if they fail to do so,” he said.
None of the ideas Israel has proposed are set in stone, aid workers say,
but the conversations have come to a standstill as groups push back.
The Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, known
as COGAT, did not respond to a request for comment and referred AP to
the prime minister’s office. The prime minister's office did not respond
either.
Since the beginning of March, Israel has cut off Gaza from all imports,
leading to what is believed to be the most severe shortage of food,
medicine and other supplies in nearly 19 months of war with Hamas.
Israel says the goal of its blockade is to pressure Hamas to free the
remaining 59 hostages taken during its October 2023 attack on Israel
that launched the war.
Israel says it must take control of aid distribution, arguing without
providing evidence that Hamas and other militants siphon off supplies.
Aid workers deny there is a significant diversion of aid to militants,
saying the U.N. strictly monitors distribution.
Alarm among aid groups
One of Israel's core proposals is a more centralized system — made up of
five food distribution hubs — that would give it greater oversight, aid
groups say.
Israel has proposed having all aid sent through a single crossing in
southern Gaza and using the military or private security contractors to
deliver it to these hubs, according to the documents shared with AP and
aid workers familiar with the discussions. The distribution hubs would
all be south of the Netzarim Corridor that isolates northern Gaza from
the rest of the territory, the documents say.
One of the aid groups' greatest fears is that requiring Palestinians to
retrieve aid from a small number of sites — instead of making it
available closer to where they live — would force families to move to
get assistance. International humanitarian law forbids the forcible
transfer of people.
Aid officials also worry that Palestinians could end up permanently
displaced, living in “de facto internment conditions,” according to a
document signed by 20 aid groups operating in Gaza.
The hubs also raise safety fears. With so few of them, huge crowds of
desperate Palestinians will need to gather in locations that are
presumably close to Israeli troops.
“I am very scared about that,” said Claire Nicolet, emergency
coordinator for Doctors Without Borders.
There have been several occasions during the war when Israeli forces
opened fire after feeling threatened as hungry Palestinians crowded
around aid trucks. Israel has said that during those incidents, in which
dozens died, many were trampled to death.
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Palestinians struggle in a crowd as they try to receive donated food
at a distribution center in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday,
April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Given Gaza's population of more than 2 million people, global
standards for humanitarian aid would typically suggest setting up
about 100 distribution sites — or 20 times as many as Israel is
currently proposing — aid groups said.
Aside from the impractical nature of Israel's proposals for
distributing food, aid groups say Israel has yet to address how its
new system would account for other needs, including health care and
the repair of basic infrastructure, including water delivery.
“Humanitarian aid is more complex than food rations in a box that
you pick up once a month,” said Gavin Kelleher, who worked in Gaza
for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Aid boxes can weigh more than 100
pounds, and transportation within Gaza is limited, in part because
of shortages of fuel.
Private military contractors
As aid groups push back against the idea of Israel playing a direct
distribution role within Gaza, Israel has responded by exploring the
possibility of outsourcing certain roles to private security
contractors.
The aid groups say they are opposed to any armed or uniformed
personnel that could potentially intimidate Palestinians or put them
at risk.
In the notes seen by AP, aid groups said a U.S.-based security firm,
Safe Reach Solutions, had reached out seeking partners to test an
aid distribution system around the Netzarim military corridor, just
south of Gaza City, the territory’s largest.
Aid groups urged each other not to participate in the pilot program,
saying it could set a damaging precedent that could be repeated in
other countries facing crises.
Safe Reach Solutions did not respond to requests for a comment.
Whether Israel distributes the aid or employs private contractors to
it, aid groups say that would infringe on humanitarian principles,
including impartiality and independence.
A spokesperson for the EU Commission said private companies aren’t
considered eligible humanitarian aid partners for its grants. The EU
opposes any changes that would lead to Israel seizing full control
of aid in Gaza, the spokesperson said.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment on ongoing
negotiations.
Proposals to restrict who can deliver and receive aid
Another concern is an Israeli proposal that would allow authorities
to determine if Palestinians were eligible for assistance based on
“opaque procedures,” according to aid groups' notes.
Aid groups, meanwhile, have been told by Israel that they will need
to re-register with the government and provide personal information
about their staffers. They say Israel has told them that, going
forward, it could bar organizations for various reasons, including
criticism of Israel, or any activities it says promote the
“delegitimization” of Israel.
Arwa Damon, founder of the International Network for Aid, Relief and
Assistance, says Israel has increasingly barred aid workers from
Gaza who had previously been allowed in. In February, Damon was
denied access to Gaza, despite having entered four times previously
since the war began. Israel gave no reason for barring her, she
said.
Aid groups are trying to stay united on a range of issues, including
not allowing Israel to vet staff or people receiving aid. But they
say they’re being backed into a corner.
“For us to work directly with the military in the delivery of aid is
terrifying,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead for Israel and
the occupied Palestinian territory. “That should worry every single
Palestinian in Gaza, but also every humanitarian worker.”
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AP reporter Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
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