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Tuesday, May 06, 2025 7:22:50 PM
UN and aid groups denounce Israeli-U.S. plan for Gaza aid delivery
"The six controversies plaguing Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu"
Updated May 4, 2025 -
World Barak Ravid
Displaced Palestinian children line up for food in Gaza. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
The UN and all aid organizations operating in Gaza jointly announced they would not cooperate with an Israeli-U.S. plan to establish a new mechanism for aid delivery to Palestinians in the enclave because it "contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles."
Why it matters: Israel has been blocking the delivery of all food, water, and medicine to Gaza since the ceasefire broke down two months ago. Now that the UN has rejected the new plan, it's very unlikely donor countries will fund it, putting the resumption of aid further into doubt.
* UN aid agencies say food supplies in Gaza will run out within days. Israeli officials claim they will completely run out in three to four weeks.
Catch up quick: Axios reported on Friday that the U.S., Israel and representatives of a new international foundation were close to an agreement on how to resume the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza without it being controlled by Hamas.
* According to that plan, aid operations in Gaza would be channeled through an internationally governed foundation, backed by nation states and philanthropic entities.
* Israeli officials said that according to the plan, several compounds would be built in part of Gaza and Palestinian civilians will be able to go there once per week to receive one aid package per family that will be sufficient for seven days.
What they're saying: The heads of all UN agencies and NGO's who operate in Gaza said in a joint statement on Sunday that the plan Israeli officials presented them was unacceptable and would not enable the delivery of aid to "less mobile and most vulnerable people."
* "It contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic — as part of a military strategy. It is dangerous, driving civilians into militarized zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers, while further entrenching forced displacement," they said in the statement.
* The UN and the aid organizations said they see the plan as a way for Israel to shut down the existing aid distribution system run by the UN and replace it with a new system controlled by the Israeli military.
* "The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have made clear that we will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. The heads of all UN entities and non-governmental organizations have unanimously affirmed this position", they added.
A source involved in the formation of the new foundation said it's operations in Gaza are going to be independent and not under the control of the IDF.
* "No aid has entered in 2 months and Gazans are suffering. We believe that something must be done urgently, and the goal of the independent Foundation we are establishing is to find urgent and workable solutions to that end – solutions that will adhere to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence," the source said.
The other side: A State Department official criticized the decision by the UN and the aid groups.
"Folks found a creative, outside the box thinking solution to a difficult problem. This is something people should celebrate and support, especially given the needs of Gazans. Not to mention that it is a really bad optic for these groups to be on the same side as terrorist Hamas on this," the official told me.
State of play: The suspension of aid deliveries and the resumption of Israeli strikes have once again displaced thousands of Palestinian civilians, delving the enclave further into a chaotic situation that has resulted in widespread looting and lawlessness.
* The Israeli security cabinet convened on Sunday to approve the mobilization of tens of thousands of reserve troops and approve the plans to expand the ground operation in Gaza.
Go deeper: Pope Francis' popemobile to serve as health clinic for Gaza children
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/05/pope-francis-popemobile-gaza-health-clinic-children
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/04/un-rejects-israel-gaza-aid-plan
**
Israeli army starts calling up reservists for planned expansion to Gaza offensive
2 days ago
Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent
[...]
No Israeli hostages have been released since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
Since then, Israel has seized large areas of Gaza, displacing hundreds of thousands of Gazans again.
Israel has said its aim was to put pressure on Hamas, a strategy that has included a blockade on humanitarian aid that has been in place for more than two months.
Aid agencies, who have reported acute shortages of food, water and medicines, have said this was a policy of starvation that could amount to a war crime, an allegation Israel rejects.
An expanded offensive will put more pressure on exhausted reservists, some of whom have been drafted five or six times since the war started, and renew concerns of the families of hostages, who have urged the government to reach a deal with Hamas, saying this is the only way to save those who are still alive.
The measure will also raise new questions about Netanyahu's real intentions in Gaza.
He has been frequently accused by the hostages' families and opponents of sabotaging negotiations for a deal, and of prolonging the war for political purposes, allegations he denies.
On Saturday evening, there were fresh protests across Israel calling for an end to the conflict.
In Tel Aviv, the mother of a hostage who remains in captivity called it a "needless war".
The Israeli military said on Sunday that two more Israeli soldiers had been killed in Gaza.
Earlier on Sunday, a missile fired from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi fighters landed near the main terminal of Israel's Ben Gurion airport. Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate.
The Houthis later responded to Israel's new plans for Gaza, saying they would impose an "aerial blockade" on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports.
In Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said as of 11:05 local time (09:05 BST) on Sunday, 40 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours, and a further 125 injured.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 52,535 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the ensuing war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Of those, 2,436 have been killed since 18 March, when Israel restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said.
And almost 19 months into the war, he has not presented a day-after plan.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2e44y44gjo
"The six controversies plaguing Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu"
Updated May 4, 2025 -
World Barak Ravid
Displaced Palestinian children line up for food in Gaza. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
The UN and all aid organizations operating in Gaza jointly announced they would not cooperate with an Israeli-U.S. plan to establish a new mechanism for aid delivery to Palestinians in the enclave because it "contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles."
Why it matters: Israel has been blocking the delivery of all food, water, and medicine to Gaza since the ceasefire broke down two months ago. Now that the UN has rejected the new plan, it's very unlikely donor countries will fund it, putting the resumption of aid further into doubt.
* UN aid agencies say food supplies in Gaza will run out within days. Israeli officials claim they will completely run out in three to four weeks.
Catch up quick: Axios reported on Friday that the U.S., Israel and representatives of a new international foundation were close to an agreement on how to resume the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza without it being controlled by Hamas.
* According to that plan, aid operations in Gaza would be channeled through an internationally governed foundation, backed by nation states and philanthropic entities.
* Israeli officials said that according to the plan, several compounds would be built in part of Gaza and Palestinian civilians will be able to go there once per week to receive one aid package per family that will be sufficient for seven days.
What they're saying: The heads of all UN agencies and NGO's who operate in Gaza said in a joint statement on Sunday that the plan Israeli officials presented them was unacceptable and would not enable the delivery of aid to "less mobile and most vulnerable people."
* "It contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic — as part of a military strategy. It is dangerous, driving civilians into militarized zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers, while further entrenching forced displacement," they said in the statement.
* The UN and the aid organizations said they see the plan as a way for Israel to shut down the existing aid distribution system run by the UN and replace it with a new system controlled by the Israeli military.
* "The UN Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have made clear that we will not participate in any scheme that does not adhere to the global humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. The heads of all UN entities and non-governmental organizations have unanimously affirmed this position", they added.
A source involved in the formation of the new foundation said it's operations in Gaza are going to be independent and not under the control of the IDF.
* "No aid has entered in 2 months and Gazans are suffering. We believe that something must be done urgently, and the goal of the independent Foundation we are establishing is to find urgent and workable solutions to that end – solutions that will adhere to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence," the source said.
The other side: A State Department official criticized the decision by the UN and the aid groups.
"Folks found a creative, outside the box thinking solution to a difficult problem. This is something people should celebrate and support, especially given the needs of Gazans. Not to mention that it is a really bad optic for these groups to be on the same side as terrorist Hamas on this," the official told me.
State of play: The suspension of aid deliveries and the resumption of Israeli strikes have once again displaced thousands of Palestinian civilians, delving the enclave further into a chaotic situation that has resulted in widespread looting and lawlessness.
* The Israeli security cabinet convened on Sunday to approve the mobilization of tens of thousands of reserve troops and approve the plans to expand the ground operation in Gaza.
Go deeper: Pope Francis' popemobile to serve as health clinic for Gaza children
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/05/pope-francis-popemobile-gaza-health-clinic-children
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/04/un-rejects-israel-gaza-aid-plan
**
Israeli army starts calling up reservists for planned expansion to Gaza offensive
2 days ago
Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent
[...]
No Israeli hostages have been released since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
Since then, Israel has seized large areas of Gaza, displacing hundreds of thousands of Gazans again.
Israel has said its aim was to put pressure on Hamas, a strategy that has included a blockade on humanitarian aid that has been in place for more than two months.
Aid agencies, who have reported acute shortages of food, water and medicines, have said this was a policy of starvation that could amount to a war crime, an allegation Israel rejects.
An expanded offensive will put more pressure on exhausted reservists, some of whom have been drafted five or six times since the war started, and renew concerns of the families of hostages, who have urged the government to reach a deal with Hamas, saying this is the only way to save those who are still alive.
The measure will also raise new questions about Netanyahu's real intentions in Gaza.
He has been frequently accused by the hostages' families and opponents of sabotaging negotiations for a deal, and of prolonging the war for political purposes, allegations he denies.
On Saturday evening, there were fresh protests across Israel calling for an end to the conflict.
In Tel Aviv, the mother of a hostage who remains in captivity called it a "needless war".
The Israeli military said on Sunday that two more Israeli soldiers had been killed in Gaza.
Earlier on Sunday, a missile fired from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi fighters landed near the main terminal of Israel's Ben Gurion airport. Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate.
The Houthis later responded to Israel's new plans for Gaza, saying they would impose an "aerial blockade" on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports.
In Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said as of 11:05 local time (09:05 BST) on Sunday, 40 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours, and a further 125 injured.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 52,535 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the ensuing war, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
Of those, 2,436 have been killed since 18 March, when Israel restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said.
And almost 19 months into the war, he has not presented a day-after plan.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2e44y44gjo
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