Israel’s role in Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is a masterclass in contradiction. First, it is accused of imposing a blockade that starves civilians. Then, when it allows aid in, sidestepping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA’s) bloated, self-serving machinery, it is attacked again, this time for ‘weaponizing aid.’ For UNRWA, it seems that who controls aid is more important than whether people actually get it. “Israel has found itself in a no-win situation,” says Israeli analyst David Horovitz. “Either it’s accused of starving Gaza or of manipulating food aid for political ends.”
Pictures of hungry and desperate people breaking into the World Food Programme’s (WFP’s) warehouse in central Gaza and stealing food have been presented to the world as if this has something to do with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an agency run by the United States and Israel. It does not, but the confusion is typical of the attempt to denigrate the GHF as it seeks to replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
To understand what is behind the rhetoric, look at the power struggle behind the crisis. The UN and its offshoot, UNRWA, have spent decades presiding over a system where aid keeps Gazans alive, while Hamas built tunnels and rocket sites. In the process UNRWA gained political leverage, billions in funding, and an international narrative of endless catastrophe. Enter the (GHF), backed by Israel and the U.S., which threatens to rip up that model, exposing the inefficiencies, corruption, and exploitation that have long gone unchecked.
“Hamas is terrified of losing control over aid distribution,” says Middle East scholar Jonathan Schanzer. “It’s one of the key mechanisms it uses to maintain its grip on the population.”
Israel has always seen humanitarian aid as a security issue, not just a moral obligation. For years, it has accused UNRWA of enabling Hamas to hijack relief supplies, turning humanitarian aid into fuel for its military machine. The GHF, with its biometric verification, military oversight, and strict distribution controls, is designed to cut Hamas out of the equation. The UN, predictably, hates it. Hamas, naturally, wants it gone. Hamas has threatened Gazans who wish to get food from the GHF aid sites and physically held back crowds wishing to access them, as well as humanitarian agencies who may work with the GHF.
The unholy alliance between UNRWA and Hamas to prevent the GHF working was led by UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, who has been vocal in his opposition to Israel’s new system. He called the GHF model “a blatant attempt to circumvent international humanitarian standards” and a “distraction from atrocities.’’ But Israel counters that UNRWA has long allowed Hamas to exploit aid delivery, with reports indicating that food meant for civilians frequently ends up being resold by militants at inflated prices.
“The international community has been complicit in sustaining this failed system,” argues Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman. “Now that Israel is trying to reform it, the resistance is predictable.”
But the backlash against the GHF is not just about logistics. It is about control. If the GHF succeeds, it shatters the UN’s grip on Gaza’s aid structure, exposing the political games behind relief efforts. It undermines Hamas’s power, which relies on controlling aid flows. And it forces the world to ask an uncomfortable question: should UNRWA continue to be funded as it is by nation states when its complicity with Hamas becomes clearer and clearer.
This is why Hamas and UNRWA are desperate to discredit the GHF. Their survival depends on keeping Gaza hooked on the current system. If a new model emerges, one that bypasses political middlemen and focuses on direct civilian relief, the influence of both UNRWA and Hamas shrinks. Their funding dries up. Their narrative collapses. Hence the wild panic tone of UNRWA’s rhetoric, such as UN relief coordinator Tom Fletcher’s hyperbolic and unfounded claim about 14,000 babies dying within 48 hours.
For decades, the UN has turned a blind eye to Hamas building a war machine while UNRWA keeps Gazans alive. This fight over aid is not just about feeding the hungry, it is about shattering Hamas’s grip on Gaza. The real question is whether the UN and Hamas will succeed in keeping aid as a weapon, or whether Israel and the U.S. will restructure it to serve civilians. And if the latter happens, it may just push Hamas toward releasing hostages and surrendering altogether.
Israel, Damned If It Blocks Aid, Damned If It Delivers It
A ‘No Weapons’ sign on the door of an UNRWA building in Jerusalem in 2009
Photo: Kyle Taylor, CC BY 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
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Israel’s role in Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is a masterclass in contradiction. First, it is accused of imposing a blockade that starves civilians. Then, when it allows aid in, sidestepping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA’s) bloated, self-serving machinery, it is attacked again, this time for ‘weaponizing aid.’ For UNRWA, it seems that who controls aid is more important than whether people actually get it. “Israel has found itself in a no-win situation,” says Israeli analyst David Horovitz. “Either it’s accused of starving Gaza or of manipulating food aid for political ends.”
Pictures of hungry and desperate people breaking into the World Food Programme’s (WFP’s) warehouse in central Gaza and stealing food have been presented to the world as if this has something to do with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an agency run by the United States and Israel. It does not, but the confusion is typical of the attempt to denigrate the GHF as it seeks to replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
To understand what is behind the rhetoric, look at the power struggle behind the crisis. The UN and its offshoot, UNRWA, have spent decades presiding over a system where aid keeps Gazans alive, while Hamas built tunnels and rocket sites. In the process UNRWA gained political leverage, billions in funding, and an international narrative of endless catastrophe. Enter the (GHF), backed by Israel and the U.S., which threatens to rip up that model, exposing the inefficiencies, corruption, and exploitation that have long gone unchecked.
“Hamas is terrified of losing control over aid distribution,” says Middle East scholar Jonathan Schanzer. “It’s one of the key mechanisms it uses to maintain its grip on the population.”
Israel has always seen humanitarian aid as a security issue, not just a moral obligation. For years, it has accused UNRWA of enabling Hamas to hijack relief supplies, turning humanitarian aid into fuel for its military machine. The GHF, with its biometric verification, military oversight, and strict distribution controls, is designed to cut Hamas out of the equation. The UN, predictably, hates it. Hamas, naturally, wants it gone. Hamas has threatened Gazans who wish to get food from the GHF aid sites and physically held back crowds wishing to access them, as well as humanitarian agencies who may work with the GHF.
The unholy alliance between UNRWA and Hamas to prevent the GHF working was led by UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, who has been vocal in his opposition to Israel’s new system. He called the GHF model “a blatant attempt to circumvent international humanitarian standards” and a “distraction from atrocities.’’ But Israel counters that UNRWA has long allowed Hamas to exploit aid delivery, with reports indicating that food meant for civilians frequently ends up being resold by militants at inflated prices.
“The international community has been complicit in sustaining this failed system,” argues Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman. “Now that Israel is trying to reform it, the resistance is predictable.”
But the backlash against the GHF is not just about logistics. It is about control. If the GHF succeeds, it shatters the UN’s grip on Gaza’s aid structure, exposing the political games behind relief efforts. It undermines Hamas’s power, which relies on controlling aid flows. And it forces the world to ask an uncomfortable question: should UNRWA continue to be funded as it is by nation states when its complicity with Hamas becomes clearer and clearer.
This is why Hamas and UNRWA are desperate to discredit the GHF. Their survival depends on keeping Gaza hooked on the current system. If a new model emerges, one that bypasses political middlemen and focuses on direct civilian relief, the influence of both UNRWA and Hamas shrinks. Their funding dries up. Their narrative collapses. Hence the wild panic tone of UNRWA’s rhetoric, such as UN relief coordinator Tom Fletcher’s hyperbolic and unfounded claim about 14,000 babies dying within 48 hours.
For decades, the UN has turned a blind eye to Hamas building a war machine while UNRWA keeps Gazans alive. This fight over aid is not just about feeding the hungry, it is about shattering Hamas’s grip on Gaza. The real question is whether the UN and Hamas will succeed in keeping aid as a weapon, or whether Israel and the U.S. will restructure it to serve civilians. And if the latter happens, it may just push Hamas toward releasing hostages and surrendering altogether.
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