The Struggle to Get Aid Into Gaza
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What is the current state of the Israel-Hamas war?
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is now in month 20, with no end in sight.
The war is grinding on, and negotiations for a ceasefire for hostage exchange are officially ongoing, but we haven't seen any breakthrough yet.
What challenges are faced in delivering aid to Gaza?
That's our colleague Anat Pellid. She's been covering the conflict in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis that's unfolding there. A crisis that's been getting worse. Last week, a controversial new plan was put in place to help distribute aid. It's backed by Israel and the U.S., and it promises to deliver food to Palestinians in Gaza. But implementation has been mired in chaos and disorder.
— So you have Gazans who are very hungry and desperate, and all of them trying to make their way to these centers and get food, get boxes of food. — And what we've seen, you know, on the first day, the very first day of the launch, we saw large crowds break into one of the, you know, distribution sites. And there was looting, and there was chaos, and the American staff had to retreat. And we know that the Israeli military fired warning shots.
— Violence has broken out twice this week, as Palestinians made their way to a distribution center. More than 40 Gazans have been killed trying to get aid, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, rescue services, and witnesses. The Israeli military says some people approached its troops on their way to the distribution site.
How severe is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?
The military fired warning shots, as well as shots near individuals who failed to retreat. The military added it was reviewing reports of casualties. Delivering aid to people in Gaza has become one of the biggest challenges in the war, a conflict where the separation between combatants and civilians is blurred and no solution has worked. In the meantime, people are facing starvation. How bad is it? How bad is the humanitarian situation in Gaza right now?
The situation is pretty bad. A lot of people are living in tents. There's very little food. So we're seeing kind of a state of chaos as Hamas kind of also loses some sort of grip on the strip or, you know, it's weakened. There's just kind of a breakdown.
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Wednesday, June 4th. Coming up on the show, deaths, disorder, and a controversial humanitarian aid plan in Gaza. Humanitarian aid has been a flashpoint in Gaza since the start of the war.
And the humanitarian toll on its population has been devastating. According to the United Nations, 90% of Gazans are displaced.
The aid and the food and all of this is at the center of the debate about this conflict. I mean, we had statements from Israeli officials at the start of this war, after October 7th, 2023, when, you know, Israel was in shock and, you know, it was a very bloody day. And basically people were making statements like no aid should enter Gaza and American officials have tried to push for more aid. But it's been a constant back and forth.
For much of the conflict, the United Nations has been responsible for distributing aid at hundreds of sites across Gaza.
What the UN would do is it has trucks of aid and it would basically get it in the Strip and then it would get it to around 400 distribution sites, so all across the Strip, and it would get to Gazans. The problem is that Israel has said that a lot of that aid was stolen by Hamas and that that's a big issue because it's trying to destroy Hamas.
The Israeli government said that Hamas steals aid to support its war effort, which the group denies. Humanitarian groups, including the UN, claim that Israel limits aid, turning it into a weapon of war. Israel denies the claim.
Basically, the UN was saying not enough trucks are going in. They would count it by trucks. The aim was like hundreds. But there was just a bit of back and forth also between the UN and Israel, kind of both sides kind of accusing each other of being responsible for not enough aid going in.
Throughout the war, the situation led to major shortages in food and other necessities. And this made getting aid into Gaza incredibly dangerous. By mid-2024, aid trucks and storage depots became targets for Palestinian smugglers, UN and Israeli officials said. Gunmen would overrun trucks and loot them as they entered the Strip.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the current state of the Israel-Hamas war?
0:05–0:23
2
What challenges are faced in delivering aid to Gaza?
0:23–1:48
3
How severe is the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?
1:48–10:50
4
What is the new aid distribution plan in Gaza?
10:50–11:36
5
Who is behind the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
11:36–13:16
6
How does the aid distribution differ from previous methods?
13:16–16:09
7
What concerns have been raised about the new aid plan?
16:09–20:07