Aid Distribution in Gaza Brings Harm
Hunger was met by disaster in Gaza this past weekend after two deadly events. Israeli forces fired on Palestinians attempting to obtain food on Saturday and Sunday, first at a United Nations convoy, and then close to a distribution center supported by Israeli contractors.
Sunday’s incident, involving a U.N. convoy, revealed the many vulnerabilities of the international aid system. While opponents of Israel’s strategy cited Saturday’s killings as proof of the U.N. system’s failure, fans of the Israeli approach, rather, emphasized this as proof of the Israeli system’s failure.
In an effort to stop militant interference and looting, the Israeli-backed system sets food distribution areas outside of Hamas control. Because of this tactic though, desperate civilians are forced to cross military lines, where they risk being hit by live ammunition.
Critical levels of food scarcity have been reached following an 80-day encircling by Israeli forces of Palestinians earlier this year. For many, the decision is simple: either risk being killed by gunfire or starve to death.
The situation is further complicated by the Israeli military’s use of live bullets to manage crowds. Although nonlethal techniques could reduce civilian casualties, they are not widely used.
A void has been created by the failure of Gaza’s government. Law enforcement and basic services are no longer provided by Hamas, which was once the ruling authority. Although Israel has demolished a large portion of Hamas’s infrastructure, it was against installing a temporary government and giving other Palestinian leaders more authority. Because of this, any aid plans become unstable, and chaos is further fueled by the absence of organization.
Shira Efron, a specialist in Gaza aid systems at the Israel Policy Forum, a research organization based in New York, says, “After 22 months of war, it’s anarchy in Gaza.”
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, plans for governance cannot move forward until Hamas is completely defeated. However, critics caution that defeating Hamas might prove difficult in the lack of a plan for Gaza’s future.
As of today, the international community is still grappling with the difficult issue of how to safely distribute aid in the war-torn area.
