PARIS — It’s the chronicle of a foretold chaos. After two and a half months of a food blockade that brought the Gaza Strip to the brink of famine, the resumption of aid turned into a disaster — just as humanitarian workers on site, who had been excluded by Israel’s decision, had predicted. The distribution operations were halted on Wednesday due to the chaos, plunging Gaza back into blockade.
The Israeli government refused to entrust the United Nations and international NGOs with the task of distributing food aid, which had resumed under U.S. pressure. Instead, Israel assigned the job to an obscure, inexperienced foundation — a front, in effect, for Israel to retain full control over the aid for political reasons.
The rollout of this aid scheme triggered chaotic scenes as desperate Palestinians, deprived of everything for eleven weeks, rushed to get food. Members of the new foundation were quickly overwhelmed by the hungry crowd, and the Israeli army opened fire to protect them, with the support of a combat helicopter. The result: one dead and 48 wounded. Four more people died during an attack on a UN warehouse by starving individuals — killed for trying to eat.
Mercenary aid foundation
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the group tasked by Israel with this mission, came to the scene only recently. It lacks both experience and real preparation. Humanitarian professionals refused to cooperate with it, citing the absence of legal and ethical safeguards. The foundation’s director himself resigned last weekend. Switzerland, where the group was registered, has called for it to disband.
Polls indicate that Israeli voters would oust this coalition in an election.
Investigative reports in the U.S. and Israel have revealed that the group is composed of former CIA operatives, ex-Blackwater security contractors, or simply former American soldiers — in effect, mercenaries. The threads of this organization trace back to Israel, which helped set it up with the aim of militarizing aid delivery. The origin of its funding, which amounts to tens of millions of dollars, remains unknown.
The plan was simple: accusing the UN and NGOs of allowing aid to be diverted by Hamas, Israel decided to filter food aid recipients using facial recognition at predetermined distribution sites. It seemed perfect on paper. But in reality the test descended into chaos on Tuesday due to the extreme deprivation imposed since March 2. Humanitarian experts were not surprised; they had anticipated such a collapse given the lack of preparation.
Rogue government
The first lesson is that the Israeli government has added another layer of tragedy to an already desperate situation. There’s suspicion that this is also part of a strategy to identify and segment Palestinians who could be pushed into leaving — aligning with the plan devised by Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right partners.
The origin of its funding, which amounts to tens of millions of dollars, remains unknown.
The second lesson is that, by further distancing itself from international humanitarian law, Israel is engaging in an increasingly untenable escalation — even in the eyes of its own population. Polls indicate that Israeli voters would oust this coalition in an election. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has openly accused the government of committing war crimes.
The chaos surrounding food aid is yet another stark sign of the unbearable deadlock into which Israel has led its war of revenge in Gaza.
