The Israeli military has set up a news aid distribution network in Gaza aimed at providing direct humanitarian aid to Gaza residents and bypassing the terrorist group Hamas.
Despite Hamas’s threats to target aid workers and disrupt the deliveries, the military has established four distribution centers as part of a U.S.-backed initiative, the Israeli media reported Tuesday. “The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that aid distribution centers had begun handing out humanitarian relief to Gazans,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported. “Four centers were established in recent weeks, the IDF said, in coordination with a US civil security company and by the directive of the Israeli government.”
The distribution centers, run by the U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), began operating after the Israeli government last week approved the resumption of aid to Gaza despite Hamas’s repeated refusal to accept a U.S.-backed temporary ceasefire in return for the release of the remaining hostages.
“As part of the ongoing efforts to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, four aid distribution centers were established in recent weeks, in accordance with the directive of the political echelon and in close coordination with the United States,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement Tuesday.
The distribution centers are supported by several foreign aid organizations and manned by a private U.S. security company. “As part of this process, four centers were established across the Gaza Strip by the American civilian security company, alongside operational preparations on the ground, in cooperation with the aid organizations, and the international community,” the IDF disclosed.
The handing out of humanitarian aid directly to Gazans would prevent fuel and supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas terrorists. “The IDF will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, while making every possible effort to ensure that the aid does not reach the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the statement added.
There are initial reports of Hamas setting up checkpoints near Rafah to block residents from reaching the distribution center, causing scenes of chaos:
The Jerusalem Post reported the details of the newly established aid distribution network:
The opening of the humanitarian aid distribution centers marks the beginning of the end of Hamas rule, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday as the IDF announced the opening of two large food distribution centers, which it has said should be able to feed up to 600,000 Palestinians over the course of a week.The two centers are located one at Tel Sultan in Rafah in deep southern Gaza, and one at the Morag Corridor, a bit north of Rafah.A third is expected to open up near Khan Yunis in mid-southern Gaza, and a fourth in central Gaza, though it is still unclear if these other facilities are days or weeks away from opening.Sources told the Post that the food centers would get up to their maximum food distribution capacity relatively rapidly, but there was also no exact deadline for that.
The aid distribution has been rolled out despite Hamas’s threatening aid workers and vowing to prevent Gazans from receiving aid. The U.S.-backed humanitarian foundation “Hamas death threats against aid groups who have agreed to cooperate with GHF, as well as efforts to block Palestinians from reaching distribution sites,” The Times of Israel reported Tuesday.
Despite the flow of aid deliveries from Israeli border crossings into Gaza throughout the war, Hamas has been siphoning off incoming food and fuel supplies to sell them on the black market to fund its terrorist operations against Israel. Hamas has also been targeting Israeli troops securing the aid route into Gaza. In early May 2024, the terrorist group fired rockets at Kerem Shalom, the main crossing for aid into Gaza, killing four IDF soldiers and wounding several others.
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