Updated: New Gaza Aid System Launches, Faces UN Pushback \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ A new U.S.-backed aid system in Gaza began food distribution Monday despite resistance from the U.N. and warnings from Hamas. Israeli airstrikes the same day killed at least 52 people, including dozens sheltering in a school. Humanitarian groups warn the new plan may deepen the crisis.
Quick Looks
- New Aid Operator: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the U.S. and Israel
- Aid Status: Food trucks began distributing supplies Monday; no clear count released
- UN Opposition: UN and other agencies object to bypassing traditional aid channels
- Director Resigns: Jake Wood quit, citing lack of independence; John Acree named interim
- Airstrikes: At least 52 killed, including 36 at a shelter school
- Israel’s Goal: Disarm or destroy Hamas, retrieve remaining hostages
- Hamas Warning: Tells civilians not to cooperate with new aid system
- Humanitarian Toll: 90% of Gaza displaced; food, water, medicine scarce
- Israel’s Migration Plan: Voluntary resettlement proposal widely condemned
- UN Compound Stormed: Israeli protesters breach UNRWA property in East Jerusalem
Deep Look
A controversial new humanitarian aid distribution system began operating in Gaza on Monday, even as Israeli airstrikes killed dozens of civilians, deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave. The initiative, spearheaded by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—a U.S.-backed group supported by Israel—marked its first day of distributing food to Palestinians under siege, despite strong objections from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies.
The foundation claimed it had delivered truckloads of food to undisclosed hubs across Gaza and began handing out supplies to Palestinians facing acute hunger after nearly three months of an Israeli blockade intended to cut off Hamas. Details regarding the volume of aid, distribution logistics, and selection criteria for recipients were not made public.
“This marks the beginning of a new phase in Gaza aid delivery,” the foundation said in a statement, promising daily deliveries with growing scale. The group, composed of former military, humanitarian, and government officials, has pledged to reach 1 million Palestinians—half of Gaza’s population—by week’s end.
The launch came amid intense criticism from the UN and established aid agencies, which have argued that the new structure lacks transparency, bypasses experienced operators, and risks turning food into a political tool. UN officials have warned that the system could further fragment humanitarian access, making it harder to serve Gaza’s most vulnerable.
These concerns were compounded by the sudden resignation of the foundation’s executive director, American Jake Wood, who said over the weekend that it was clear the organization would not be permitted to operate independently. John Acree, a former U.S. security official, was named interim director. The source of the group’s funding remains unclear.
Hamas, the de facto governing authority in Gaza, issued a warning Monday urging Palestinians not to engage with the new system, claiming it was part of an Israeli plan to undermine Palestinian autonomy and manipulate humanitarian access.
While food deliveries began, violence escalated elsewhere in Gaza. At least 52 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to Gaza health officials. One of the deadliest attacks struck a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City’s Daraj neighborhood, where 36 people, including an entire family, were reportedly killed while they slept. Footage showed responders pulling charred bodies from the rubble, while fires burned through sleeping mats and personal belongings.
The Israeli military claimed the strike targeted a command center used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, insisting that militants were using the school as a base to coordinate attacks. It said the building was struck three times, and blamed Hamas for operating in civilian areas, a frequent justification in the ongoing war.
In another strike, 16 people from a single family—including five women and two children—were killed in the northern town of Jabalya, according to reports from Shifa Hospital. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired three projectiles, two of which fell within Gaza and one that was intercepted by Israeli defense systems.
The airstrikes followed a renewed Israeli military offensive, which resumed in March after the collapse of a ceasefire agreement. Israel has vowed to continue its campaign until Hamas is disarmed or dismantled, and until the return of 58 hostages taken in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 251. Roughly a third of those hostages are believed to still be alive.
The Gaza Health Ministry reports over 54,000 Palestinians killed in the Israeli retaliation, with more than half of the victims being women and children. Israel contends many of the dead are militants, but the ministry does not differentiate in its death toll.
Israel also continues to float a highly controversial plan to facilitate the “voluntary migration” of Gaza’s population, a move widely condemned by Palestinians and much of the international community as forced displacement. With 90% of Gaza’s population displaced, and repeated strikes on shelters, hospitals, and homes, the humanitarian catastrophe is only intensifying.
In a separate but symbolically charged moment, Israeli ultranationalists marched through East Jerusalem on Monday to commemorate the country’s 1967 takeover of the city’s eastern sector. Some protesters chanted “Death to Arabs” and harassed Palestinians. Earlier that day, a group of demonstrators—including a member of Israel’s parliament—stormed a UNRWA compound, now largely abandoned due to safety concerns. The U.N. reminded the public that such facilities are protected under international humanitarian law.
The intersection of aid, military operations, and political protest is exacerbating tensions in both Gaza and Jerusalem. Critics say Israel’s strategy is creating conditions that make sustainable peace and meaningful humanitarian access impossible. Aid organizations continue to demand full, unfettered access under neutral management and warn that piecemeal or politicized efforts may do more harm than good.
As Gaza’s population faces starvation, displacement, and constant bombardment, the world watches—with growing urgency and deepening concern—whether this new aid initiative will relieve suffering or simply shift the crisis into a new, more complex phase.
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