Israel appears to believe its war goals are getting closer, as Gaza teeters on starvation

Despite enormous criticism from abroad, Israel appears to believe its war strategy in Gaza is slowly working thanks in part to the efforts of the mysterious new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

Now two weeks into its operations, the GHF has taken over delivering humanitarian supplies to the besieged enclave, but increasingly at a terrible cost.

More than 110 people have been killed at, or near, aid distribution sites in Gaza. Some, it appears, were shot by Israeli soldiers; others by unknown gunmen. Still others were killed in the chaos that predictably accompanies starving people rushing to get limited supplies. 

A new analysis by the Crisis Group, an NGO that studies global conflicts, concludes that Israel’s military has turned Gaza into a giant “experiment in starvation” and is creating conditions for the forced displacement of its population by keeping people fed just enough to stay alive, but hungry enough to rebel against Hamas.

“Israel is using food as a weapon of war,” report author Robert Blecher told CBC News. 

“One hundred per cent of Gaza is facing life-threatening food insecurity,” he said. “There are best practices that [Israel] could be choosing to follow, but they’ve chosen not to follow those.”

Weakening Hamas 

In recent statements, Israel’s military has indicated it believes its tactics have weakened the militant group’s grip on the territory, as evidenced by the willingness of Palestinians to ignore Hamas directives not to take food boxes from the GHF, and also to hold street demonstrations against the militant group.

At the same time, Israeli politicians such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who on Tuesday was sanctioned by Canada’s government — say the country is moving ahead with a new department to facilitate the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza.

A collection of Western aid agencies have accused Israel of using the GHF to deliberately herd Palestinians out of their homes in order to be closer to the aid distribution centres, where it will be it easier to move them out of Gaza permanently.

Unlike traditional humanitarian agencies that have operated in Gaza — which transport aid to warehouses and distribute food, fuel and medicine to communities throughout the territory — the GHF has on many days operated only two distribution points.

Palestinians say that has forced families to make long, dangerous treks through hazardous war zones to get food.

Mohamed Salim told a CBC freelance videographer in Gaza earlier this week that he walked through the night from his home in Gaza City and then waited for hours to try to get boxes of provisions for his family — only to leave empty handed. 

“We came here for nothing, except to get shot at and injured,” he said.

Another man, 25-year-old Mohamed Abdo, says he needed to get food for 10 family members but managed only a few bags of beans, lentils and salt.

Riham Jafari, with the women-focused group Action Aid, called the GHF’s limited efforts a “media trick.”

“Israel and the U.S. want to tell the world that they are delivering food for people… but the people are dying,” she said from her base in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

On a quick visit to London last Friday, Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand didn’t reply directly to a question about the GHF and its work, but appeared to acknowledge the food situation in Gaza remains inadequate.

“More humanitarian assistance, especially food, must enter Gaza and Canada will continue to work with our allies to ensure that there is dignity and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” she said.

Israel’s government and the GHF both strenuously refute any accusation of that they are intentionally limiting food to the territory.

In a post on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry wrote: “Hundreds of trucks. Millions of meals. Every Single Day. One of the largest humanitarian aid operations in the world is currently reaching the people of Gaza — enabled by Israel.”

The post was accompanied by photos of people carrying boxes of food, presumably back to their families. 

“Smiles don’t lie. Hamas does,” the post concluded.

In a statement to CBC News, the GHF also boasted of its successes in its opening two weeks.

“To date, we’ve delivered more than 11 million meals to the people of Gaza. Before our operations began, there was no safe, reliable way for civilians to receive food,” it said.

“Our food is filling that void — getting food directly to those who need it the most.”

GHF took over delivering aid in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel lifted its almost three month-long blockade of the territory.

Various UN and private agencies that had previously been co-ordinating aid distribution in Gaza expressed a strong willingness to resume their work, but Israel’s government refused.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed that Hamas was stealing or diverting vast quantities of food aid, a claim that international agencies say is overstated.

And yet the Crisis Group report says that, less than a month ago, the UN presented a “comprehensive” plan that addressed Israel’s security concerns, with QR-coded cargo; sealed, GPS-tracked trucks; UN monitors at every crossing, and other precautions. Nearly 9,000 truckloads of aid were “sitting ready” in Egypt and Jordan, it says. Israel did not respond to the proposal.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Netanyahu’s office did not respond to further questions, which the Government Press Office said it had forwarded.

Who precisely is providing money to pay for those GHF meals is also unclear. The statement provided by the group said it will not disclose its funding.   

Israel’s government says it’s not footing the foundation’s bills, although some reports in Israeli media have suggested otherwise.

The GHF is registered in Switzerland and the U.S. state of Delaware, although a BBC reporter who tried to track down the personnel behind the foundation was unable to make much progress. 

“No one’s ponying up to the money, partially because of political and moral issues, but I think they’re probably also concerned about legal issues,” said Blecher. 

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November, accusing him of using starvation as a method of warfare and deliberately targeting Palestinian civilians. 

War goals

Ceasefire talks involving Hamas and Israeli negotiators have been unable to end the conflict.

The militant group — which attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people — has demanded Israel end its war in Gaza and withdraw its forces from the territory.

Netanyahu says Israel’s war aims remain unchanged: defeating Hamas, bringing back the remaining 25 or so living hostages from Gaza, and ensuring that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.

Still, even if Israel’s military feels its war goals are getting closer, it’s unclear how long the GHF’s operations will be sustainable.

The Crisis Group report underscores that while, technically, Gaza’s population is probably not in a state of famine, most people there remain severely undernourished.

The report notes that Israel’s own military has set the threshold for avoiding malnutrition at 2,200 calories per person per day — while the GHF has promised to provide only 1,750.

In such a state, Blecher, the report’s author, says the population of Gaza cannot survive indefinitely.

“Killing 50,000-plus people [in Gaza] in a war is one thing that has earned Israel a lot of enmity around the world,” he said.  

“But killing a multiple of that, if say, a cholera epidemic hits, I think that means something very different for Israel moving forward.”