Bottom Line Up Front:
* After an over two-month blockade, the first major influx of humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip late last week.
* The humanitarian situation in the Strip has continued to be catastrophic, with acute food insecurity, widespread malnutrition, hundreds of thousands displaced, and disproportionate impacts on women and children.
* International outcry over Israel’s blockade and military escalation had been mounting in recent weeks, with the UK, France, and Canada recently threatening “concrete actions,” including sanctions, and the Trump administration voicing growing concerns.
* The recent killing of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington, D.C is the latest in a string of violent incidents impacting Jewish, Arab, and Muslim communities in the West since the start of the conflict, underscoring the impact of the war beyond the Middle East.
After an over two-month blockade, the first major influx of humanitarian aid (https://thesoufancenter.org/i
Israel’s aid blockade, which included food, had been in place since March 2, exacerbating famine risks, according to the World Food Program (WFP). During that period, local bakeries supported by WFP had been forced to shut down due to lack of supplies. The entire population has faced prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people – almost a fourth of the population – in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness, and death, according to WFP. This has disproportionately impacted women and children, as nearly 71,000 children and 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition in the immediate future.
Beyond the acute food insecurity, nearly 600,000 people have been displaced since the collapse of the ceasefire (https://thesoufancenter.org/i
Despite the easing of the blockade, the UN and aid groups have stated that the assistance thus far is not nearly enough to meet the current need (https://thesoufancenter.org/i
coming [has contributed] to rising insecurity.” Reports have circulated of mobs of people descending on distribution centers in a scramble for food, highlighting the chaos.
Israel instituted the blockade in mid-March, ostensibly due to accusations that Hamas was stealing aid from civilians, a claim denied by Hamas, and to pressure the militant group to release the remaining hostages and disarm. Yet, international outcry over the blockade and Israel’s military escalation had been mounting in recent weeks. The United Kingdom, France, and Canada released a joint statement last week threatening to take “concrete actions,” including sanctions, against Israel if it did not stop its new offensives and lift the aid restrictions. The statement was the countries’ most significant criticisms of Israel’s war in Gaza and its actions in the occupied West Bank. A separate letter last week by the foreign ministers of Germany, Italy, Japan, and 18 other countries called for Israel to fully open humanitarian aid delivery. Even the Trump administration, which has previously voiced full support for Israel’s actions, has expressed its growing concern over the burgeoning hunger
crisis in Gaza. Both U.S. President Donald Trump (https://thesoufancenter.org/i
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement in response to the growing calls for aid, stating that Israel’s “greatest friends in the world” had told him “[w]e cannot accept images of hunger…[w]e will not be able to support you.” Netanyahu went on to promise that the aid to Gaza would be “minimal” and a stopgap until the newly proposed aid distribution system was enacted, seemingly an attempt to pacify the nationalist base. The new aid system will be run by a U.S.-backed organization, which will distribute assistance in hubs secured by the Israeli military, supplanting the current system run by the UN and other international aid agencies. The organization, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, is reportedly made up of U.S. security contractors, ex-military officers, and humanitarian aid officials.
UN agencies and aid groups have rejected the plan and refused to participate, asserting that the system will fail to meet the staggering need, particularly due to accessibility, and that it could weaponize aid. Those reportedly familiar with the plan have said it will involve setting up distribution points mostly in southern Gaza, which could force thousands of Gazans to move south once again. The UK, France, and Canada have also criticized the plan, stating it would be unaligned with humanitarian law. (https://thesoufancenter.org/i
The devastation in Gaza has reverberated well beyond the region, amplifying tensions particularly in the West. Hunger strikes over the blockade have recently swept across the United States, beginning on university campuses. The recent killing of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington, D.C., outside an event focused on humanitarian diplomacy and improving the delivery of aid to Gaza underscores the impact of the war beyond the Middle East. Although details of the suspect’s motivations are still emerging, he reportedly chanted “free, free Palestine” while being detained by security after the shooting, and told police officers, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza.” The deadly incident is the latest in a string of violence targeting Jewish, Arab, and Muslim communities since the outbreak of war in the Middle East – a key finding in a report (https://thesoufancenter.org/r
The Soufan Center last year. Such incidents may continue – or potentially increase – as a meaningful ceasefire and the release of hostages remains elusive (https://thesoufancenter.org/i