A private aid group backed by the U.S. government will begin distributing humanitarian assistance inside the Gaza Strip by the end of the month.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation this week said Israel has agreed to end its two-month blockade of the Palestinian enclave in the interim.
The operation sidesteps the United Nations, which has been heavily criticized and accused of not preventing Hamas from stealing aid meant for Gaza residents.
The Israeli government has approved the organization’s plan to set up Safe Distribution Sites throughout Gaza, the Times of Israel reported Thursday.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it will initially establish four SDS, enabling them to continuously serve 1.2 million Gazans in the initial phase, with the capacity to expand past 2 million.
Prepackaged rations, hygiene kits, and medical supplies will move through “tightly controlled” corridors that will be monitored in real time to prevent diversion, they said.
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“We welcome moves to quickly get urgent food into Gaza in a way … that the food actually gets to who it’s intended,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said last week. “It cannot fall into the hands of terrorists such as Hamas. We support a plan to get in aid right now and urge others to do so as well.”
The aid group said it would take time to fully implement the humanitarian relief plan. It said Israel will allow humanitarian aid into Gaza under “existing mechanisms” until the construction of the Safe Distribution Sites is complete, the Times of Israel reported.
