Israel may change tack to allow aid groups in Gaza to stay in charge of non-food aid

TEL AVIV, Israel — As pressure mounts to get more aid into Gaza, Israel appears to be changing tack and may let aid groups operating in the battered enclave remain in charge of non-food assistance while leaving food distribution to a newly established U.S.-backed group, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The development indicates Israel may be walking back from its plans to tightly control all aid to Gaza and prevent aid agencies long established in the territory from delivering it in the same way they have done in the past.

Israel accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid but the United Nations and aid groups deny there is significant diversion. The U.N. has rejected Israel's plan, saying it allows Israel to use food as a weapon, violates human humanitarian principles and won't be effective.

Israel had blocked food, fuel, medicine and all other supplies from entering Gaza for nearly three months, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3 million Palestinians there. Experts have warned of a high risk of famine and international criticism and outrage over Israel's offensive has escalated.

Even the United States, a staunch ally, has voiced concerns over the hunger crisis.

The letter, dated May 22, is from Jake Wood, the head of the Israel-approved Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, and is addressed to COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory.

It says that Israel and GHF have agreed to allow non-food humanitarian aid — from medical supplies to hygiene items and shelter materials — to be handled and distributed under an existing system, which is led by the United Nations. U.N. agencies have so far provided the bulk of the aid for Gaza.

The foundation would still maintain control over food distribution, but there would be a period of overlap with aid groups, the letter said.

''GHF acknowledges that we do not possess the technical capacity or field infrastructure to manage such distributions independently, and we fully support the leadership of these established actors in this domain,'' it said.

The foundation confirmed the authenticity of the letter. A spokesman for GHF said the agreement with Israel came after persistent advocacy. While it acknowledged that many aid groups remain opposed to the plan, it said GHF will continue to advocate for an expansion of aid into Gaza and to allow aid groups' work in the enclave to proceed.

COGAT declined to comment on the letter and referred the AP to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which did not respond to a request for comment.

U.N. officials also did not reply to requests for comment.

Unclear who is funding GHF

The GHF, which is not yet up and working in Gaza, is run by security contractors, ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials, and has the backing of Israel.

The group says it plans to handle food aid, initially from a handful of hubs in southern and central Gaza with armed private contractors that would guard the distribution. Additional sites will be opened within a month, including in northern Gaza.

The letter says aid agencies will continue providing food assistance in parallel to the GHF until at least eight sites are up and running.

Aid groups have been pushing back on the GHF and Israel's plans to take over the handling of food aid, saying it could forcibly displace large numbers of Palestinians by pushing them toward the distribution hubs and that the foundation doesn't have the capacity to meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza.

It's also unclear who is funding the GHF, which claims to have more than $100 million in commitments from a foreign government donor but has not named the donor.

'Functioning aid'

The letter says that GHF's Wood was on a call with the CEOs of six aid groups discussing the new plans, including Save the Children, International Medical Corps, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, CARE International and Project HOPE.

Rabih Torbay, head of Project HOPE, confirmed the call and said his organization was encouraged to hear that the delivery of medicines and other non-food items would continue under the current system.

Still, Torbay appealed for food aid to be allowed into Gaza without ''obstruction or politicization.''

A spokesperson for CARE said it has shared its concerns regarding GHF's proposal for food distribution in the hubs and reiterated the importance of using existing distribution mechanisms under the U.N. The spokesperson said the meeting was an opportunity to ask a lot of questions, but CARE's attendance was not an endorsement of the effort.

Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel for the International Crisis Group, says the letter is a clear sign that both Israel and the GHF recognize the humanitarian catastrophe people face in Gaza and the need for immediate aid.

''The GHF and Israel are clearly scrambling to get something that works — or at least the appearance of functioning aid — and that this mechanism is not ready or equipped or fitting for the needs of the population in Gaza,'' Zonszein said.

Ahmed Bayram, Middle East spokesperson for the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that Israel is part of the conflict and should not be in control of the aid distribution.

''Israel interfering in parts or all of that process would be damaging to the independence and neutrality of humanitarian aid,'' Bayram said.

Humanitarian principles

The GHF came under more scrutiny this week, with TRIAL International — a Geneva-based advocacy group focusing on international justice — saying Friday that it was taking legal action to urge Swiss authorities to monitor the group, which is registered in Switzerland.

The foundation's spokesperson has insisted that it abides by humanitarian principles and operates free from Israeli control. The spokesperson, speaking anonymously under the foundation's policy, told the AP earlier this week that it is not a military operation and that its armed security guards are necessary for it to work in Gaza.

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.