As starvation in Gaza reaches new catastrophic levels after Israel banned all food and aid from the enclave for now more than 70 days, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee proudly announced on Friday an imminent breakthrough: Israel and the US are finalizing a new mechanism to resume food supplies to the enclave. “President Trump has made clear that one of the most urgent things that need to happen is humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Huckabee emphasized.
But Huckabee’s announcement, apparently designed to sound benevolent, has evoked wide and fierce international backlash as well as significant opposition inside Gaza.
That’s because we now know that mechanism will be run by a new private foundation, effectively ending the UN-led aid system that has long been in place in Gaza and replacing it with a tightly controlled process designed to only give much-needed assistance to around 60% of the enclave’s population.
“The UN altogether, from the secretary general to the different agencies, including UNRWA, rejects the plan,” UNRWA’s director of external relations and communications Tamara Alrifai told me. A senior European official described it as “dystopian” and “sinister,” while another called it “extremely dangerous.” …..more