Israel’s humanitarian efforts for providing food aid to the Gaza Strip

Israel is currently engaged in a war with Hamas and other terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, following the massacre of over 1,200 Israelis on October 7 in a brutal and sadistic manner, as well as the abduction of over 240 hostages into Gaza and continued attacks against Israeli civilians, including launching of over 12,000 rockets.

Despite that, Israel’s war is not with the people of Gaza, and is only against the Hamas terrorist organization. Israel has never practiced nor used starvation as a tool of war.

1. Israel facilitates entry of any and all humanitarian aid with special emphasis on food into the Gaza Strip following a process of supervision and control to ensure that indeed the goods being transported are humanitarian aid and not other materials that will be harmful to Israel’s security.

2. Israel has scaled up its security check capacity in order to enable increased entry of aid, with no limit on the amount of trucks that can be inspected and enter Gaza on the Israeli side. In evidence, prior to the Swords of Iron War, 69 Trucks were admitted on average per day through the Kerem Shalom and Rafah Crossings into the Gaza Strip (including luxury goods such as low-cal foods). In the past two weeks the average of daily food trucks was 109.

3. Israel allows entry of fuels for vital systems, including water installations, diesel fuel and gas for bakeries in order to enable the opening of the bakeries sector in the Gaza Strip. The reason why the bakeries have not been opened so far is due to an internal business dispute inside the Gaza Strip over the controlled retail price for the pita bread. The bakeries now produce over 2 million pitas per day for the entire population.

4.Additionally, Israel has enabled the Palestinian private sector (business sector) to import food in addition to the UN agencies and donations - which has a direct effect on the quality and quantity of food.

5.Israel has also opened several additional ways to enable increased transfer of food into the Gaza Strip, without having to go through Al-Ahrish in Egypt, thus alleviating the burden more effectively.

6. Israel has also designated a ‘humanitarian zone’ in southern Gaza, intended for use by international organizations to distribute aid. The zone is also meant for increased access to humanitarian aid.

It is important to emphasize that every day Israel inspects some 300 aid trucks. However, due to logistical failings on the part of the UN agencies, particularly UNRWA, only 120 trucks on average assemble at the border crossings and end up distributing their goods in the Gaza Strip. Each day, hundreds of trucks, having passed Israeli inspection, await entry into the Gaza Strip to unload their cargo.

We are working with international organizations to facilitate various initiatives that promote the supply of food for the population in Gaza. Many organizations are working to supply and distribute food to the population of the Gaza Strip: WFP, UNRWA, WCK, ANERA, and others.

To our knowledge, the aid organizations have a division of responsibilities between them: UNRWA is responsible mainly for the population in shelters; WFP and other NGO’s supply food to those outside the shelters, and the private sector operates parallel to the organizations.

A.UNocha - In the final week of December, flour was distributed to 882,000 residents in the south. Additionally, some 120,000 food packages (sufficient for several days for an entire family) were distributed, plus vouchers for the purchase of food were handed out, and tens of thousands of ready-made food rations.

B.WFP - since the onset of hostilities, this agency has been supporting over 856,700 persons.

C.ANERA - setting up field kitchens at several sites and ability to distribute hot food daily - some 44,000 rations.

1. Hamas commandeering of aid trucks - We witness repeated incidents of Hamas gunmen commandeering aid trucks. Hamas also steals and hoards significant amounts of aid for their needs, placing Hamas guards at collection points for humanitarian aid and using force against residents when they do not comply with the terms of the distribution. In its actions, Hamas is undermining the humanitarian aid being extended to the population.

2. Looting of trucks - there are isolated and localized incidents of truck looting by civilians in Gaza. These are isolated cases out of the thousands of trucks that have entered the Gaza Strip.

3. Internal disputes over the work methods - The movements of the population and their concentration in specific locations, were supposed to improve the way the food was being distributed in an orderly manner. However, the aid organizations disagree among themselves on how to operate, ending up hindering the distribution to the population (this situation has resulted in the WFP importing food from Jordan without participation from UNRWA, which is preventing other agencies in the Gaza Strip from carrying out their mission and working proactively and on a large scale within the Gaza Strip).

The nutritional situation in the Gaza Strip is reasonable and meets the humanitarian needs of the population.Israel is not starving the population, which is evident in the hundreds of trucks that have been inspected by Israel and are waiting for the UN agencies to receive them.

In our meetings with all of the aid organizations, and even the Humanitarian Coordinator, have noted that there is no famine within the Gaza Strip and there certainly is no starvation there either.

Regarding the northern region, several UN aid convoys to the shelters have been arranged in recent days. These include food and other humanitarian supplies.