The new Gaza humanitarian initiative that began delivering food to Gaza on May 26 has passed its first major hurdle. In any endeavor, the first days of the operation are important. This is when the first crisis emerges and when people begin to see what works and doesn’t work. It can also be a make-or-break period.
The ability of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as well as the private security contractors who help secure the site, to get through the first several days of operation is important.
The GHF has now distributed a total of around 3.8 million meals in Gaza, Ynet noted on Saturday, May 31. This is up from a total of 1.8 million by the afternoon of May 29 and some 2 million by the morning of the 30th.
The meals are distributed in boxes that contain enough food to feed a family of five to six people for three to four days. What matters is that the number of meals being delivered is increasing. By the end of the week, there were three sites open in Gaza, two in the south, and one in Netzarim.
The success of this endeavor appears to boil down to a few factors. First of all, the use of private security is a good way to enable people with experience securing sites and doing this kind of work to have a role that differentiates the sites from the IDF.
Gazans have generally not met the IDF since the war started on terms that can be described as friendly. Instead, they have usually been told to evacuate areas of Gaza.
Therefore, having an independent group doing this is important. It enables the IDF to be one step removed. The IDF nevertheless helps facilitate this and is in control of the overall area of southern Gaza and Netzarim. However, reducing friction is essential to success.
Some of the private security involved in this endeavor have years of experience in the Middle East, usually as soldiers and special forces operators. Some of them may have played a role in January and February during the first ceasefire when there were vehicle inspections by a private security firm at Netzarim.
Overall, what this shows is that these men bring the flexibility and experience necessary to a complex place like Gaza. They have a sense of mission and purpose.
The importance of employing these types of people with experience is that they are not shocked to see some of the crowds or looting or ransacking of areas.
They have the training to pull back and enable things to work themselves out. Humanitarians who have been involved in similar work in other countries know that this kind of ability to mitigate conflict and move back when there is overcrowding or crisis is essential. It reduces the chance of violence.
There has been mass crowding at the various sites in Gaza. Reports indicate that sometimes this meant the sites had to wait to open in the morning because people slept overnight waiting to be first in line.
Also in the afternoon the first day the first site was overrun. But there were contingencies for this and the GHF and the security contractors have been able to sort things out quickly. The reports from Gaza, including videos on social media, show that some of the private hires speak some Arabic and are able to communicate with the crowds. Some of the crowds have cheered for the American contractors and cheered for US President Donald Trump.
This shows an important development, where they understand someone is there to hep them. At the same time reports say people in Gaza have looted other sites linked to the UN or WFP. This shows the people are now demanding aid get directly to them, and not pass through the hands of other parties.
Potential for future expansion of the initiative and cooperation with local Gazans
There are supposed to be four sites. There could be more in the future. Other aspects of the logistics could be streamlined. Also there are reports of locals who support this initiative, including a local Arab clan or group that has been supportive.
The reports speak about a man named Yasser Abu Shabab who is linked to the large Tarabin bedouin tribe that has members in Gaza, the Negev, and Sinai. Yasser Abu Shabab is not a real name; it merely means “Yasser, the father of the youth,” a nickname that helps hide the identity of the person or persons allegedly involved. The same name was reported by the Washington Post and other media back in November 2024 as one of those involved in “looting” or “gang” activity. It remains to be seen whether that was biased reporting.
Most of this information about what is happening in southern Gaza requires more details because relying on a few social media reports or rumors from southern Gaza is not enough. However, the emergence of cleavages in Gaza in which locals want to support this initiative is important. It’s also possible that to help people get the aid, they could receive it later in the day, or earlier, or overnight, especially since some appear to be lining up at night.
Clearly, Israel’s current policy is invested in this succeeding. It took a while to get this off the ground. It could have happened months ago or last year. However, now it is happening, and it appears to be an initial success that can be learned from. Hamas has been cleared from areas near the sites over the last year of war.
In many cases, Hamas was cleared several times, and now the IDF is razing some buildings and securing the area as it moves slowly forward. This comes as ceasefire talks continue.
The capacity to deliver aid is growing in Gaza. It has apparently surpassed 30 trucks a day for the sites. This could double. However, other humanitarian organizations involved in Gaza suggest that 500-600 trucks a day must cross into Gaza. That means that the aid reaching the GHF sites still would account for less than what is needed.
This was known from the outset when the initiative was announced by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee in early May. At the time, the theory was that around sixty percent of Gaza might be fed.
The new initiative passed its first tests and hurdles. It could be said to be entering a new phase as it enters its second week of operations in early June.
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