Israel and the US are trying to persuade the United Nations to participate in a new humanitarian aid distribution plan for Gaza that is currently being developed, according to both Israeli and Western diplomats who spoke to The Jerusalem Post.
During a cabinet meeting this week, a new plan for distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip was approved.
The plan involves establishing distribution centers in specific areas that will be under the IDF’s control. Aid will be distributed directly to individual families, rather than through truck convoys as was previously done – a method that often resulted in the aid falling into the hands of Hamas.
In recent days, several meetings have taken place between Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories officials and representatives of the UN to present the new plan and explore possible methods for aid distribution under this new framework, sources told the Post.
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Wednesday briefed members of the UN Security Council regarding the details of the new plan. Two sources familiar with the discussions estimate that US President Donald Trump’s administration may consider cutting funding to the UN if the organization refuses to participate in the new humanitarian initiative.
Israel seeks UN cooperation for several reasons
While Israel would manage the distribution mechanism, the actual aid, primarily food, would be supplied by the same international organizations that have provided assistance in the past. Two sources said some of these organizations may be unwilling to cooperate without a UN endorsement. Israel also hopes that UN involvement will provide international legal backing for the plan.
A senior Israeli official said this week that, for now, there is sufficient aid in Gaza and that there is no immediate need to implement the new plan. So far, the UN has refused to cooperate.
A senior UN official told the Post: “We have been very clear that we would not participate in the humanitarian distribution system that does not respect our principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality.”
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