Aid groups call on Israel to end 'weaponization' of aid in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 100 nonprofit groups warned Thursday that Israel's rules for aid groups working in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank will block much-needed relief and replace independent organizations with those that serve Israel's political and military agenda — charges that Israel denied. At the same time, hospital officials reported more deaths from Israeli airstrikes and an increasing toll from malnutrition. The mounting backlash over aid restrictions and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza have been cited by several countries as a factor in their moves toward recognizing Palestinian statehood. Yet on Thursday, Israel advanced plans for a new settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, with one far-right government minister describing the move as a way to "bury the idea of a Palestinian state." Letter accuses Israel of 'weaponizing aid' The nonprofit groups, including Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and CARE, were responding to registration rules announced by Israel in March that require organizations to hand over full lists of their donors and Palestinian staff for vetting. They contend doing so could endanger their staff and give Israel broad grounds to block aid if groups are deemed to be "delegitimizing" the country or supporting boycotts or divestment. The aid groups stressed on Thursday that most of them have not been able to deliver "a single truck" of life-saving assistance since Israel implemented a blockade in March. The aid that the groups provide supplements assistance from the United Nations, airdrops organized by foreign governments and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — the new Israel and U.S.-backed contractor that since May has been the primary distributor of aid in Gaza. Despite those channels, the amount of aid reaching Gaza remains far below what the U.N. and relief groups previously delivered. U.N. agencies and a small number of aid groups have resumed delivering assistance, but say the number of trucks allowed in remains far from sufficient. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, denied the claims in the NGOs' letter. It said 380 trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday. And on Thursday, the Israeli military said, 119 aid packages containing food for Gaza residents were airdropped by six different countries. During the two-month ceasefire, aid groups demanded Israel allow entry for 600 trucks per day. "The alleged delay in aid entry … occurs only when organizations choose not to meet the basic security requirements intended to prevent Hamas's involvement," COGAT said. Israel has pressed U.N. agencies to accept military escorts to deliver goods into Gaza, a demand they've largely rejected, citing their commitment to neutrality. The standoff has been the source of competing claims: Israel maintains it allows aid into Gaza that adheres to its rules, while aid groups that have long operated in Gaza decry the amount of life-saving supplies stuck at border crossings. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had met with U.N. humanitarian officials in New York about the "need to, speedily, scale up aid into Gaza." Death toll mounts from airstrikes and malnutrition Hospitals throughout Gaza on Thursday reported casualties from Israeli strikes on Gaza City, which Israel identified as a militant stronghold last week when it announced plans to launch a new offensive against Hamas. An Israeli strike on Gaza City killed one person and wounded three others, an official at Shifa Hospital said. A separate strike killed five people in Gaza City on Thursday morning, according to al-Ahli hospital, which received the casualties. Israel's military did not immediately respond to questions about the strikes. The casualties add to the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have been killed since the war started when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 people. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 61,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza. Israel believes around 20 of them to be alive. The health ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. The ministry on Thursday also reported four additional malnutrition-related deaths, raising the total to 239, a toll that includes 106 children. Israel announces settlement expansion in critical Jerusalem corridor In the occupied West Bank, Israel's far-right finance minister on Thursday announced the construction of a new settlement expansion that Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a future Palestinian state by effectively cutting the West Bank into two separate parts. Minister Bezalel Smotrich said doing so "buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognize and no one to recognize." "Anyone in the world who tries today to recognize a Palestinian state – will receive an answer from us on the ground," he said, referencing the many countries moving toward recognition. The 3,500 apartments in question would expand the settlement of Maale Adumim into an open tract of land east of Jerusalem known as E1. Development in the area has been under consideration for more than two decades, but was frozen due to U.S. pressure during previous administrations. The E1 plan has not yet received its final approval, which is expected next week. Rights groups swiftly condemned the plan. Peace Now called it "deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution." Italy evacuates Palestinians from Gaza, including injured kids As European countries amplify their criticisms of Israel and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, some are expanding evacuations. Italy's foreign affairs ministry said it received 114 Palestinian evacuees from Gaza on Wednesday, including 31 children suffering from either severe injuries and amputations or serious congenital diseases. Since the beginning of the war Italy has evacuated more than 900 Palestinians from Gaza, including those who have arrived as part of a family reunification program.