900 Trucks of Aid for Gaza Waiting to Be Collected
Israel holds the unique position as the only state in the world required to feed an enemy population after a war is launched against it. The militant groups in Gaza that launched the October 7 War do not have any direct responsibility for feeding, sheltering, and clothing the civilian population they ruled over. That renders Hamas a pure terrorist entity that seeks to destroy a sovereign state. Any political wing of Hamas is, therefore, a mere façade for their militant agenda to annihilate Israel as a state.
The international media has spread panic about starvation in Gaza. However, the realities are very different due to the war.
Israeli agency COGAT (The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories) implements the government's civilian policies in Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip. They coordinate affairs to ensure Palestinian civilians get supplies of basic necessities in peacetime and during wars.
COGAT announced on Monday, November 11, that they allowed the delivery of food and water to Beit Hanoun earlier than scheduled[1]. However, obtaining authorization and arrangements on the ground to ensure crowd control and efficient distribution of aid remains a pervasive challenge.
The United Nations agencies concede that the delays are less of a problem from the Israeli side and more of a challenge due to the difficulty of combat, lawlessness, and getting the appropriate agencies to collect and distribute aid on the Gaza side.
Distribution is the central challenge. It is the reason Gazans have little food to feed their starving children.
This distribution challenge is significant because Hamas has lost its central grip over its militant units. Yahya Sinwar and other top officials are either executed or forced to live underground. As such, Gaza is tilting towards circumstances similar to Somalia in the early 1990s, where warlords controlled different streets of cities.
Aid trucks heading to Gaza are repeatedly hijacked by armed men who are not accountable to any central authority. Therefore, hoarding and profiteering continue throughout the war. If any group of ten fighters diverts aid, they can sell it at any rate they choose to the desperate, starving Gazan civilians.
This trend goes hand-in-hand with the fact that every armed Hamas operative is a marked man. And any Israeli soldier who finds them will execute them. So, it is a complicated situation, and most aid groups do not want to get caught in the straitjacket of the fighting.
Thus, many aid groups in Gaza refuse to collect aid to distribute within the Gaza Strip.
Over 900 trucks loaded with essential aid remain uncollected on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
UNRWA officials state clearly that no aid group will want to collect this aid for distribution without assurances of a safe passage.
Only a ceasefire can allow adequate aid to get into Gaza. However, Hamas' leaders living comfortably in Qatar and around the world continue to present unrealistic demands for a pause in fighting.
That only turns this conflict into an all-out war where Hamas must be defeated in totality to accept an unconditional surrender. Until then, the people of Gaza will pay a heavy price exacted on them by the leadership of Hamas, who provide them with no basic necessities required of a ruling body.
[1] Julia Frankel, Matthew Lee & Samy Magdy. "US says it will not limit Israel arms transfers after some improvements in flow of aid to Gaza" AP News. Published: November 12, 2024. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-aid-us-48cd09c1c007cacd6d7a309589490320
