Terror group Hamas has ordered Palestinians to avoid humanitarian assistance distributed by a U.S.-backed aid organisation. The Islamists claim it is part of an Israeli intelligence-gathering plot: this follows the agency insisting that aid recipients use biometric ID to receive help, in an attempt to prevent Hamas or its allies from pilfering supplies.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), linked to the Israeli and U.S. governments, has been greenlit by Israel to enter the Strip. Close to Israeli military positions, four such hubs are in the process of being established, aiming to feed half of Gaza’s population by the end of the week.
Now, despite claims that Gaza’s population is heading for starvation amid an Israeli blockade, few Palestinians have arrived at GHF distribution centres. The Hamas-linked Home Front issued this warning:
Do not go to Rafah … Do not fall into the trap…Do not risk your lives. Your homes are your fortress. Staying in your neighbourhoods is survival, and awareness is your protection.
In practice, however, the terror group has unleashed a wave of violence, including executions, against Palestinians who protest against its brutal regime—suggesting intimidation is keeping Gazans away from the hubs.
Following widely repeated claims last week that “14,000 babies would die in the next 48 hours,” the current Hamas response to GHF sits uneasily with the blood libel that Israel is deliberately starving children. It’s as if the terror group does not want aid to get through.
