US confirms plan for private firms to deliver Gaza aid despite UN alarm

[Twiglets1]

The US has confirmed that a new system for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies is being prepared, as Israel's blockade continues for a third month.

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said "distribution centres" protected by security contractors would provide food and other supplies to over a million people initially, as part of an effort to prevent Hamas stealing aid.

He denied Israel would take part in aid delivery or distribution, but said its forces would secure the centres' perimeters.

It comes as details emerged about the controversial plan, which UN agencies have reiterated they will not co-operate with because it appears to "weaponize" aid.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp92rlm300mo

From sky

Criminals looting aid intended for Gaza are doing so with "active or passive" Israeli military protection, according to a Gazan analyst.
The looters are operating in areas under the IDF's full control, says Muhammad Shehada, visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Looting occurs in front of Israeli tanks and military vehicles, he tells Sky News presenter Gareth Barlow.
"The criminals and drug dealers that are looting the vast majority of aid are operating with either active or passive IDF protection," he adds.
Israel allows in a fifth of what Gaza needs for basic human survival on a daily basis, he goes on to say.
Shehada says the "engineered policy of starvation" incentivises theft because a single bag of wheat flour costs $500.
"Israel is using the 'Hamas looting' talking point as merely a pretext to externalise blame for its deliberate starvation policy in Gaza," he says.

Israel allegedly say Hamas has commandeered 10% of the aid that entered the strip, the UN have denied it and said there's no proof. Israel have never shown any proof for it, as it is with most of their allegations.

Thanks, looks like Muhammad, whose threads I shared earlier in the thread is seen as credible enough by Sky News.

By the way the report concurs with what Palestinians in Gaza have been telling us on Twitter spaces for months. They know who these gangs are and which clans they belong to amd which political factions as well as Israel support them.

@myplace I'm not too sure.

Have found some information on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation from the BBC dated 15th May that mention that they have called for hubs to be built in northern Gaza too, but not sure if/when this will happen.

On Wednesday it announced it would start operations before the end of May, and appeared to call for Israel to allow aid through normal channels until its distribution centres were fully operational. It also called for aid hubs to be built in northern Gaza, something not envisaged under the original plan and which had led to criticism that people would be forced to move south.

UN agencies have insisted they will not co-operate with the plan - which is in line with one previously approved by Israel's government - saying it contradicted fundamental humanitarian principles.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce82ene10p0o

How does that tally with the article earlier about Hamas being unable to pay their people because they’re no longer able to steal aid?

Sorry, there is so much information, I can’t keep track.

I don't know which article you are referring too, It may have been shared by someone else who might be better placed answering your question.

Yes, it has been on going for a long time but you hardly see any reports on it on MSM.

BBC reported on it yesterday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyz4mzww1ro

A balanced article.

Sky News reporting that a new aid site has opened today.

The foundation said, “Operations will continue scaling across all four sites, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, in the weeks ahead.”

"The UN and other established aid agencies have refused to co-operate with the GHF, arguing that its operation does not comply with the humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality.
They have said they have tonnes of supplies ready to enter Gaza, and a detailed plan to distribute them that minimises looting.
Gaza's Hamas-run Government Media Office said Israel's efforts to distribute aid had "failed miserably"."

Bizarre. The people need food. The UN and other aid agencies refuse to co-operate with the GHF. That's helpful of them. Let people starve whilst they decide whether to co-operate or not. Surely just get the food out.

Yes I agree.
I just meant the article was balanced in that it mentioned different points of view.

BBC Verify How controversial US-Israeli backed Gaza aid plan turned to chaos

To get a picture of the first few days of this new aid delivery system, BBC Verify has authenticated dozen of images at distribution sites, interviewed humanitarian and logistics experts, analysed Israeli aid transport data and official statements released by the GHF, and spoken with Gazans searching for supplies.

Chaotic scenes at distribution centres

GHF said it aimed to feed one million Gazans in its first week of operations through four secure distribution sites.
A foundation spokesperson said on Friday, its fourth day of operations, that it had distributed two million meals. The BBC has not been able to verify this figure, which would be less than one meal per Gazan over the course of four days.
GHF did not respond to our inquiries about how it was tracking who had been receiving them.
In a video filmed at GHF's northern site near Nuseirat on Thursday, Palestinians can be seen being running away from a perimeter fence after GHF contractors threw a projectile that exploded with a loud bang, a flash and smoke.
GHF in a statement said its personnel "encountered a tense and potentially dangerous crowd that refused to disperse".
"To prevent escalation and ensure the safety of civilians and staff, non-lethal deterrents were deployed—including smoke and warning shots into the ground," it said.
"These measures were effective", it added, "and no injuries occurred." BBC Verify cannot independently confirm this.
Later that evening, GHF warned Gazans via Facebook that it would shut down any site where looting occurred.

The GHF is not the only aid organisation facing serious challenges. The night before the GHF warning, a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse was looted, resulting in several deaths which are still being investigated.

From the same article:

Disorganised GHF communication
Palestinians seeking aid have characterised the GHF-led operation as disorganised, saying a lack of communication has contributed to the chaotic scenes seen this week.
Things have been further muddied by misinformation. BBC Verify has seen at least two Facebook profiles purporting to be official GHF accounts, sharing inaccurate information about the status of the aid distribution centres.
One page with more than 4,000 followers posted inaccurate information, sometimes alongside AI-generated images, that aid had been suspended or that looting at GHF centres had been rampant.
A GHF spokesman confirmed to BBC Verify that both these Facebook accounts were fake. He also said that the foundation had launched an official Facebook channel.
Transparency information online showed the page was first created on Wednesday, the day after distribution operations started.
Aid organisation Oxfam and local Gazan residents have told the BBC that residents are instead relying on word of mouth to circulate information when aid was available.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4g0xmem2lo

From the same article: Aid agency concerns

Oxfam criticised the location of the GHF distribution sites, telling BBC Verify that it imposed "military control over aid operations".
It's policy adviser, Bushra Khalidi, also questioned how vulnerable people, such as the elderly, would be able to reach these sites, which are located some distance away from some population centres.
When the UN had been delivering aid before Israel's humanitarian blockade, there were 400 distribution points spread across Gaza. Under the present GHF distribution system there currently are four known sites.
"By and large, its designed to dramatically increase the concentration of the population by having the only sources of food remaining in a very small number of places," said Chris Newton, a senior analyst at the brussels-based think tank Crisis Group.
"You either follow all their rules and probably survive in a small radius around these sites or you are very unlikely to survive."
The presence of armed security and Israeli soldiers at or near the distribution sites has also alarmed experts, who said it undermined faith in aid operations.
A GHF spokesperson said: "Our ability - and willingness - to act under pressure is exactly why GHF remains one of the only organisations still capable of delivering critical food aid to Gaza today."

From the same article:

On Friday, only one of the four GHF sites was distributing aid. It opened for less than an hour after which GHF announced on Facebook that it had closed because all its supplies had been "fully distributed".
When asked by BBC Verify why only a single site was operational and why its boxes ran out so quickly, a GHF spokesperson said supply "will vary day by day".
"Good news is we have provided two million meals in four days and will be ramping up in the coming days and weeks," the spokesman said.
But many are still returning from distribution sites without boxes for their families.
"I am empty-handed like God created me," said Hani Abed outside the centre near Netzarim on Thursday.
"I came empty-handed and I left empty-handed."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4g0xmem2lo

Times of Israel: Letter shows Israel may let humanitarian groups in Gaza stay in charge of non-food aid

What does the letter say?

The letter, dated May 22, is from Jake Wood, the (previous) head of the Israel-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation or GHF, and is addressed to COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory.

It says that Israel and GHF have agreed to allow non-food humanitarian aid — from medical supplies to hygiene items and shelter materials — to be handled and distributed under an existing system, which is led by the United Nations. UN agencies have so far provided the bulk of the aid for Gaza.

The foundation would still maintain control over food distribution, but there would be a period of overlap with aid groups, the letter said.
“GHF acknowledges that we do not possess the technical capacity or field infrastructure to manage such distributions independently, and we fully support the leadership of these established actors in this domain,” it said.

The foundation confirmed the authenticity of the letter but did not comment on it further.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/letter-shows-israel-may-let-humanitarian-groups-in-gaza-stay-in-charge-of-non-food-aid/

Thank you for those articles @Twiglets1 it does appear to be a bit of a mess currently. Hopefully this will improve in the next couple of days.
Honestly the biggest problem as I can see is 4 distribution points for 2 million people even in an area as densely populated as Gaza this is woefully inadequate and leads to the chaos

I agree that 4 distribution points is very inadequate and they need more if the war is going to continue (assuming Hamas don't accept the terms of the new US ceasefire plan that Israel have agreed to).

A couple of days ago I posted a screenshot on this thread from Sky news which quoted the GHF as saying "Operations will continue scaling across all four sites, with plans to build additional sites across Gaza, including in the northern region, in the weeks ahead".

NBC News: Is aid getting into Gaza?

In an update Saturday GHF said it had distributed 30 truckloads of food “providing approximately 1,663,200 meals.” It added that Saturday’s “meal distribution was the* *largest to date and five times more than yesterday.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-us-ceasefire-proposals-gaza-starvation-aid-rcna210108

Hamas have basically rejected the US ceasefire deal today so it looks like these new aid distribution centres will need to be built & operational asap.

Didn’t they reject it because they’re wanted the UN to be in charge of food distribution and there are reports of the UN not picking up trucks and warehouses full of tonnes of flour, guarded by Hamas, which were not distributed despite there being a ‘famine’ and children starving to death?

It couldn’t be clearer that the UN is complicit with Hamas could it?

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israel-accuses-un-of-failing-to-collect-humanitarian-aid-piling-up-on-gaza-border/

www.timesofisrael.com/four-palestinians-die-in-storming-of-gaza-un-food-warehouse-idf-was-not-in-area/amp/

That wasn't the only reason but I agree it's suspicious that Hamas are so keen for the UN to carry on providing the aid.

Why should Hamas care who supplies it unless they think they can benefit more from using the original suppliers? It's not like they care about the civilian population is it.

Atleast 21 people reportedly killed and dozens others injured outside one of the newly opened GHF aid distribution centre from IDF fire.

Early this morning - reports started coming out of Gaza that a number of people had been killed and many injured at an incident at an aid distribution centre near the southern city of Rafah.
What have Gaza's Hamas-run authorities said?
Israeli tanks opened fire on people, with more than 20 killed, according to rescuers and Gaza's Hamas-run authorities.
What has Israel said?
The Israeli military has said it is currently unaware of injuries caused by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fire at the aid site.
How many people have died?
The number of people reported as dead has varied between different sources, with rescuers claiming 26 people have been killed and 150 injured.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent says its teams have transported 23 fatalities from the aid distribution point in Rafah
BBC Verify
Our colleagues at BBC Verify have been examining footage showing people running and ducking, with apparent gunfire audible in the background.
They have authenticated two newly-published videos as being from the Salah al-Din road, just south of the recently opened aid distribution site in the Netzarim Corridor.