‘Israeli control over food distribution in Gaza tantamount to military rule,’ Gallant warns
A truck carries humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Israel, November 2024
Noa Shpigel and Yaniv Kubovich report in Haaretz on 21 November 2024:
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday that the distribution of food to Gazan residents by private companies protected by the IDF is “a whitewashing of the beginning of military rule.” Gallant was referring to plans being prepared by the government in this matter, saying that “the price in blood will be paid by IDF soldiers and the state, based on a faulty set of priorities that will lead to the neglect of more important defense-related missions.” The former minister tweeted on his X account that “military rule was not part of the war’s aims, but rather a dangerous and irresponsible political act.” He noted that “avoiding this situation requires an alternative that will replace the IDF on the ground.”
Over the last week, the cabinet discussed various plans for the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. One of these, promoted by the Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, stipulates that the responsibility for distributing aid will be given exclusively to international agencies, which will operate a logistics center in the Gaza Strip which will be protected by private companies. The plan was presented to the government by an American consulting company. The possibility of establishing military rule in the Gaza Strip, in which the IDF will be directly responsible for the distribution of aid, was also examined.
The government discussed these issues given the growing concern over diplomatic implications [for Israel] deriving from the dire humanitarian distress in Gaza, mainly in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel is aware of the fact that the extent of aid delivered to the Gaza Strip is far from reaching the goals set by the Biden administration, even after the government instructed the IDF to increase the scope of the aid delivered. Washington has demanded that 350 trucks be allowed into the northern Gaza Strip daily, but in practice, only 100 trucks get there. A further problem is that much of the aid does not reach the population, reaching Hamas instead, or being robbed by crime gangs which then sell the aid at exorbitant prices. Such incidents occur even in areas that are under the complete operational control of the IDF, which does not intervene in such cases.
In recent days, the state informed the High Court of Justice that the IDF does not effectively control the Gaza Strip, and that its available manpower does not afford such control, which is why it cannot safeguard humanitarian aid for the area’s residents. The state also said in a discussion of a petition asking the court to instruct the state to enable the free flow of aid, that it will not allow private merchants to bring food and other products into the Gaza Strip.
Aid groups operating in Gaza believe that in the absence of food brought in by the private sector, the risk of starvation will intensify substantially. International organizations say that private merchants can better deal with gangs of looters, who steal much of the aid now entering Gaza, in comparison to humanitarian organizations. This is due to the fact that private merchants can hire private security guards or pay protection money to looters, actions which aid organizations refrain from doing. Israel has allowed private merchants to introduce food into Gaza during the war, especially after the closure of the Rafah border crossing in early May. In recent months, this has been disallowed.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich assailed Gallant over his statement, accusing him of preventing Israel from taking over the distribution of humanitarian aid. “Gallant imagined a non-existent alternative that would do the work for us,” said Smotrich. “But when this failed to appear, Gallant allowed Hamas to take over the distribution and maintain its control over Gaza.” Smotrich added that “holding territory is essential for security.” The head of the National Union Party, Benny Gantz, related to this issue, writing on X that “Israel’s control of security in the Gaza Strip is essential. Israeli rule, with our soldiers looking after sewage and garbage disposal, is disastrous.”
Haaretz revealed last week that the IDF is allowing armed Palestinians to loot and collect protection money from aid trucks. Aid organization sources said that the armed men, who are connected to two known clans in Rafah, are systematically blocking many of the trucks entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The IDF is turning a blind eye. Some of the path the trucks take in the southern Gaza Strip, one km from Kerem Shalom, is called by the IDF the “looting zone.” This week, the UN reported that 97 of the 106 trucks that entered Gaza in one convoy were robbed, with the food and equipment that were on them lost.
While he was still defense minister, Gallant expressed his opposition to a military administration in Gaza. In May, he held a press conference in which he called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss an alternative to Hamas rule, since this demand was not being addressed in closed meetings. “This is a bad and dangerous alternative for Israel, strategically, militarily and from a defense perspective,” he said. “As a state, we face security risks on many fronts, with a limited amount of resources. An Israel military administration in Gaza will become the main effort in the coming years, at the expense of other arenas. It will have a cost in blood and sacrifices, as well as a heavy economic cost.”
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