The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is the linchpin of a new aid system that would wrest distribution away from aid groups led by the U.N.
The new mechanism limits food distribution to a small number of hubs under guard of armed contractors, where people must go to pick it up. Currently four hubs are being set up, all close to Israeli military positions. .
Israel has demanded an alternative plan because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid. The United Nations and aid groups deny there is significant diversion.
GHF said it moved trucks of food to its hubs on Monday and began distribution, without giving details on how much aid was distributed. It said the flow of supplies would be "increasing each day.” It has said it plans to reach more than 1 million Palestinians by the end of the week. Gaza has a population of around 2.3 million.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry on Monday warned Palestinians in Gaza against dealing with GHF.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that under the aid mechanism, Gaza’s population would eventually be moved to a “sterile zone” in Gaza’s far south. He said it was for their protection while Israeli forces fight Hamas elsewhere. He also said once the Palestinians enter the area, “they don’t necessarily go back.”
Israel also says that after Hamas is defeated, it will implement a plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the territory's population outside Gaza, though it portrays migration as “voluntary.”
