DayofPal– After more than two months of a total blockade that plunged the Gaza Strip into starvation, the Israeli security cabinet has authorized the limited resumption of humanitarian aid.
However, critics warn the move is part of a broader US-Israeli strategy to forcibly displace Gaza’s population, not a shift toward easing civilian suffering.
The decision, announced over the weekend, allows international aid organizations to deliver relief into Gaza starting May 24.
The effort will be coordinated under a new mechanism developed jointly by Israel and the United States, Axios reported.
But far from a humanitarian breakthrough, many see it as a calculated maneuver in what rights groups are calling a campaign of “forced displacement.”
Since early March, Israel’s blockade of Gaza has cut off access to food, medicine, and essential supplies for its 2.5 million residents.
Famine has swept across the enclave, with dozens, including many children, dying from hunger and dehydration.
UN agencies and human rights organizations have accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war, a charge that, under international law, equates to genocide.
Aid will be funneled primarily to southern Gaza, where the majority of the population has already been pushed due to ongoing military operations. A senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that aid centers will be set up in the south and run by the Israeli army alongside private American firms, not by neutral humanitarian agencies.
The official called the decision a temporary, one-week measure while a more permanent infrastructure is put in place.
While Israeli media, including Yedioth Ahronoth, report that the decision was made under U.S. pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declined to hold a cabinet vote on the matter, sidestepping objections from hardline ministers like Itamar Ben Gvir.
Netanyahu’s office instead framed the move as a military decision, aimed at “expanding the operation” in Gaza.
Israeli Channel 13 confirmed that the aid deliveries are part of broader military plans, not a response to humanitarian need.
The controversial operation, reportedly codenamed “Gideon’s Chariots,” includes tightly managed relief corridors controlled entirely by the Israeli army. Independent monitoring will be absent, raising alarms that aid could be weaponized as part of Israel’s campaign.
“This is not humanitarian aid,” said one human rights advocate. “It’s controlled survival, a tactic to corner civilians into a kill zone while maintaining the appearance of concern.”
Critics argue the strategy is designed to corral Gaza’s population into a narrow strip near the Egyptian border, paving the way for further Israeli territorial expansion. International aid groups estimate that only 25% of Gaza’s population will benefit from the resumed aid, leaving millions at risk.
The United Nations has condemned the plan, warning that it violates the principle of impartial humanitarian assistance and may be used to justify further attacks on densely populated civilian areas.
“Trapping civilians in a tightly controlled zone, then bombing everything outside it, is not humanitarian policy, it’s a military tactic,” said a UN official.
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