The Israeli government has agreed to resume the supply of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip after a two-month blockade. About this informs Axios.
“The Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) announced today that it will begin operations in the Gaza Strip by the end of the month. This follows negotiations with Israeli officials to allow the flow of transitional aid to Gaza under existing mechanisms until GHF’s Secure Distribution Points (SDS) are completed,” – says the statement of the organization.
The executive director of the fund, Jake Wood, emphasized that it is impossible to delay any longer. According to him, “today we are one step closer to doing just that.” The restoration of humanitarian aid supplies has become a key condition for the operation of the GHF, a structure created with the support of the United States and Israel to launch a new model for the delivery of humanitarian goods to Gaza. According to the Israeli side, this system will avoid control by Hamas.
The fund said it was in the final stages of procuring large quantities of food aid in addition to commitments from other humanitarian organizations already operating in the sector. The total amount of aid for the initial 90-day period should exceed 300 million servings. In a letter sent by the GHF to the Israeli government on May 14, the fund called for the delivery of the required amount of humanitarian aid under existing mechanisms until the GHF infrastructure is fully operational.
The fund requested and Israel agreed to expand the number of safe delivery points throughout the sector to reach the maximum population and find a way to help those civilians who cannot reach the distribution centers. In the same letter, the GHF asks Israel to identify the locations of humanitarian aid distribution centers in the north of the enclave within 30 days.
The foundation’s statement came amid Israeli preparations for a massive military operation to seize the entire enclave if a ceasefire is not agreed this week. Israel’s operational plans, which should be implemented as early as Friday, include the mass transfer of about 2 million Palestinians to the “humanitarian zone” in the southern part of Gaza.
The fund stressed in its letter that in the event of displacement of Palestinian civilians “deemed necessary due to imminent or active military operations, it must be temporary, voluntary and solely for the protection of the civilian population.”
