The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) resumed distributing food packages in southern Gaza on Thursday. According to the controversial aid organization, a total of 26 truckloads of food were distributed across two locations.
The GHF’s aid efforts have faced significant criticism in recent days due to multiple incidents around the distribution sites. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, the Israeli army fired warning shots due to the large crowds. There were several deaths and injuries each day. However, the exact circumstances of the incidents remain unclear. The GHF therefore decided not to distribute aid on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
According to the organization, this time was used to better organize both the distribution locations and the routes leading to them. Distribution points open at 5:00 AM, but due to hunger, many Gazans set out deep in the night. As a result, many residents have reportedly deviated from the route established by Israel.
In addition, according to the GHF, talks are underway with the Israeli army to better secure the approach routes, reports The Times of Israel.
Another reason why many residents go out for help very early is because they have to come from the north. As a result, they often have to cross combat zones, with all the risks that entails. This is also a point of criticism from international aid organizations regarding the GHF’s working methods. In a statement, seen by Reuters, the organization says that distribution locations will soon be opened in northern Gaza.
Israeli media are widely reporting on a militia in southern Gaza. It is said to be jihadists who were previously involved in attacks on aid convoys. The group, about three hundred strong, was allegedly provided with weapons by Israel at the initiative of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Without the knowledge of parliament.
Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman claimed this on Israeli television on Wednesday. Images of armed men from an unknown group had been circulating on social media for some time. Social media users had noticed that these men were active in Rafah, an area controlled by the Israeli army.
Defense sources confirmed Liberman’s account to Channel 12, Walla, and The Times of Israel, among others, on Thursday. Netanyahu’s office neither denies nor confirms the reports and says in a reaction that Israel is trying to defeat Hamas in Gaza in various ways. That seems to be the intention of the new militia: the group should form a counterweight to Hamas.
It is not the first time that Israel has supported one group to counteract another. According to Israeli media, there have been persistent rumors for years about support from Netanyahu to Hamas. This in an attempt to undermine the influence and authority of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA exercises authority over Palestinian Territories in the occupied West Bank. According to the Israeli Walla, ombudsman Matanyahu Engelman has started a new investigation into alleged support for Hamas.
Group Targetted by Hamas Due to Ties with Israel
For the time being, the group is called the Abu Shabab gang, after the 32-year-old leader Abu Shabab from Rafah. His movement is now mainly concerned with setting up tent camps in southern Gaza and distributing aid. Shabab is also said to have called on displaced Gazans to return to the south.
In addition, the group would escort aid convoys. It is not clear whether the group accompanies trucks from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The controversial aid organization has two food distribution points in Rafah.
Hamas is now said to have targeted Shabab’s group. They regard him and his members as accomplices of Israel and collaborators. But according to the Israeli Channel 12, the leader of the group does not yet have the trust of the Gazans. They are said to be particularly wary of Shabab’s call to return to the south.
Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have often said that they want to gather residents of Gaza in the south as much as possible, in order to be able to take over the rest of the enclave.