The first distribution point for aid to the population of Gaza has opened in the south, according to The Times of Israel and Channel 12. Three more locations should be opened in the foreseeable future: two in the south and one at the so-called Netzarim corridor.
Food packages are distributed from distribution centers. These are said to be boxes of 70 kilos, containing enough food for ten days for a family of five, reports the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
The foundation says that the aid will have reached more than a million Palestinians by the end of the week – almost half of the total population of Gaza.
It is unclear whether the first food packages will also be distributed today. The Israeli army announced a major evacuation order for the area around the distribution point on Monday afternoon. The army warns of “unprecedented attacks”. The order applies to, among others, Rafah, Khan Younis and surrounding areas.
‘Lifesaving aid used as a means of pressure’
The UN is therefore critical of the aid plan, because civilians could end up in the firing line on their way to the centers. Moreover, the road to it could be an insurmountable obstacle for the elderly and the sick.
CARE Netherlands is also critical. “What we are seeing is not humanitarian aid, but a situation in which hundreds of thousands of people are forced to leave their homes and neighborhoods to survive in overcrowded ‘safe zones’,” the aid organization said in a press release.
“The idea that people have to pick up packages while they are starving is not a humanitarian solution. Forced displacements like these are a serious violation of humanitarian law.” CARE therefore does not want to speak of aid, “but a system that uses life-saving aid as a means of pressure under military control.”
Moreover, food aid alone is not enough. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday of major shortages of medical supplies. Some 60 percent of the required resources are said to no longer be in stock. Medicines and vaccines are also running out.
Head of aid organization resigned before start of operation
Shortly before the start of the GHF operation, CEO Jake Wood announced his resignation. He states that he took on the role of director two months ago because he “felt compelled to do everything” he could to alleviate the suffering in Gaza. He now states that the GHF plan cannot be implemented in compliance with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
The GHF was scheduled to start its operations in Gaza at the end of May, but has come under fire. The New York Times revealed that Israelis, including businessmen with close ties to their government, had conceived the organization, which was presented as neutral. The United Nations, which was to leave aid in Gaza to the GHF, also says that the organization plan is not in line with the UN basic principles.
UN: Less than 5 percent of Gaza farmland usable
The fact that the situation in Gaza is critical is also due to the destruction of agricultural land, in addition to the weeks-long Israeli blockade of aid. This is according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) after an assessment with the UN satellite center. Less than 5 percent of the agricultural land in the Gaza Strip is still usable as a result of the war, the organization says.
Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the FAO, points to the consequences for the Gazans. In a statement, she speaks of “a collapse of Gaza’s food system and lifelines”. “What once provided food, income and stability to hundreds of thousands is now in ruins,” said Bechdol. Restoring local food production to its previous level requires huge investments, she said.
According to the FAO, agriculture accounted for approximately 10 percent of the local economy before the war. More than 560,000 people were fully or partially dependent on agriculture, livestock farming or fishing for their livelihoods. That is about a quarter of the Gazan population.
Dozens killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza
On Monday, many victims fell again in various Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. There would be more than forty deaths, report BBC News and news agency Reuters based on medical personnel in Gaza.
Most of the victims fell in an Israeli attack on a former school building in Gaza City. At least thirty people are said to have been killed there. The army says on X that it has “hit important terrorists operating in a command and control center of Hamas and Islamic Jihad” at the location. A spokesperson for the Gazan civil defense says that the school was used as a shelter for displaced persons.
Because of the ongoing violence, even Germany is now critical of the Israeli action. Chancellor Friedrich Merz says in an interview with broadcaster WDR that the violence can no longer be sold as a fight against Hamas.