After the Gaza ceasefire accord collapsed two months ago, Israel halted all humanitarian aid delivery of food, water and medicine into the enclave, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
UN aid agencies say food supplies in Gaza will run out within days.
The suspension of aid deliveries and the resumption of Israeli strikes have once again displaced thousands of Palestinian civilians, delving the enclave further into a chaotic situation that has resulted in widespread looting and lawlessness.
President Donald Trump on Sunday stated he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the devastated Gaza Strip.
In recent weeks, Israeli and U.S. officials, representatives of an international humanitarian foundation and private companies have been discussing a new aid delivery mechanism, officials say.
Netanyahu briefed Trump about the discussions during their phone call last week, Israeli officials said.
“You got to be good to Gaza. Those people are suffering. There’s a very big need for food and medicine, and we’re taking care of it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday regarding his call with Netanyahu.
A source familiar with the issue told Axios the new mechanism will meet Trump’s objective of allowing humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave while honoring the Israeli cabinet’s directive that no aid reach Hamas.
A State Department official said the new mechanism was “something to celebrate” and resulted from discussions between Israel and the foundation with the backing and endorsement of the Trump administration.
“We understand that the mechanism will deliver aid to the people who need it in line with our principals: we support the flow of humanitarian aid with safeguards to ensure assistance is not diverted, looted, or misused by terrorist groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” the official stated.
“President Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio expect all UN and international aid agencies to work within the mechanism’s framework to ensure Hamas lacks access to these critical resources,” the official added.
According to the agreement under discussion, aid operations in Gaza would be channeled through an internationally governed foundation, backed by nation states and philanthropic entities,.
The foundation would be led by humanitarians with an advisory board of prominent international figures.
Israeli officials say that according to the plan, several compounds would be built in part of Gaza and Palestinian civilians will be able to go there once per week to receive one aid package per family that will be sufficient for seven days.
“Israel has committed to fund and execute the massive engineering work required to build the infrastructure for the Secure Aid Distribution Sites,” a source familiar with the plan stated.
According to the source, the parties are in advanced discussions with donor countries that would fund the Foundation’s operation, including the purchasing of the humanitarian aid.
A private U.S. company would be in charge of the logistical delivery and of providing security in and around the humanitarian compounds, the source added.
Israeli officials say the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will not be involved in the delivery of the aid and will not be present in the compounds, but will provide security in the broader area.
Israeli officials said they want the mechanism to be operational before Israel’s military expands its ground operation in Gaza, which is expected to happen later this month if the stalemate in the blockaded Strip hostage and ceasefire negotiations continues.
The Israeli security cabinet is going to convene on Sunday to approve the mobilization of more reserve troops and approve the plans to expand the ground operation.
