PM announces move to ministers without a vote, amid growing international concerns following 2.5 months without food entering Strip, and as IDF launches expanded ground offensive
ed note–still waiting for the intolerable horde of geo-political ‘experts’ whose seemingly one and only statement of faith is that ‘POTUS Donald Trump is owned by the Jews and by Netanyahu’ to explain how/why if what they say is true, how it can then be possible that headlines such as the above are appearing in Jewish newspapers all over the world?
And no, the explanation that ‘this is what Netanyahu wanted all along’ simply won’t ‘cut it’, unless of course what’s being cut is ‘the cheese’.
Like we said, still waiting, but won’t hold our collective breath.
But then again, maybe we should.
Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the immediate resumption of ‘basic’ humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening, making a highly unpopular decision among his right-wing circles amid mounting US pressure to end a monthslong blockade.
The move was approved during a security cabinet meeting at the recommendation of military officials who reportedly warned that food supplies belonging to the UN and aid groups had completely run out, creating an acute humanitarian crisis.
No vote was held among the ministers, some of whom vocally opposed the step, which went against repeated pledges by senior officials in recent months that no aid would resume before a new mechanism was put in place to prevent Hamas from commandeering the supplies. The aid was set to renew via the previously used mechanisms.
In a statement confirming the decision, the Prime Minister’s Office said the aid flow was being restored ‘at the recommendation of the IDF and due to the operational need to enable the expansion of intense fighting to defeat Hamas.’
The PMO said Israel ‘will allow the entry of a basic quantity of food for the population in order to prevent the development of a hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip,’ as such a crisis ‘would endanger the continued operation to defeat Hamas.’
‘Israel will act to deny Hamas the ability to seize control of the distribution of humanitarian aid in order to ensure that the aid does not reach Hamas terrorists,’ the office concluded.
The prime minister’s decision was reportedly made without a vote among ministers — as would generally be expected, even though he is not legally required to — since most of the cabinet opposed the move. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir demanded a vote and was refused.
The cabinet proceeded to debate whether or not there is a famine in Gaza.
‘The prime minister is making a grave mistake with this move, which doesn’t even have a majority. We must crush Hamas and not simultaneously give it oxygen,’ Ben Gvir argued in a statement, as other hawkish politicians and groups joined in pillorying the step.
Shortly after the PMO’s formal announcement, another statement was sent out to reporters in the name of a ‘senior official,’ saying that the aid resumption was a ‘temporary measure’ that would only last for around a week, until the new aid distribution centers in Gaza were up and running.
Most of these centers will be located in the southern Gaza Strip and operated by private US companies, the unnamed official said.
Eri Kaneko, a spokesperson for UN aid chief Tom Fletcher, confirmed the agency had been approached by Israeli authorities to ‘resume limited aid delivery,’ adding that discussions were ongoing about the logistics ‘given the conditions on the ground.’
The decision to resume aid followed mounting pressure from the US for Israel to end its monthslong aid blockade on the Gaza Strip and avoid a humanitarian crisis that humanitarian organizations say has been well underway for weeks.
Israel has thus far refused to renew the aid, saying Hamas has been stealing the aid to benefit its own members.
However, according to the Walla news site, the resumed transfer of aid will be facilitated through several international organizations, including the UN World Food Programme and the World Central Kitchen, until a new US- and Israel-backed mechanism, known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), begins operating later this month.
In the United Arab Emirates on Friday, US President Donald Trump said: ‘We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.’
On Sunday, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said Israel had ‘indicated’ that it would begin ‘to allow a lot more’ humanitarian aid into Gaza after blocking its entry for over two-and-a-half months, but noted that it is ‘logistically complicated and the conditions on the ground are dangerous.’
Witkoff told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that ‘We do not want to see a humanitarian crisis, and we will not allow it to occur on President Trump’s watch.’
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was established to manage aid distribution has said that it is planning to begin operating in Gaza by the end of the month, but Israel has yet to confirm this.
Through the GHF, aid will only be distributed from a small number of sites in southern Gaza that are secured by American contractors.
GHF Executive Director Jake Wood welcomed the aid resumption announcement as an ‘important interim step,’ adding that it was ‘consistent with the commitment made to us to serve as a bridging mechanism until the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is fully operational.’
‘Through the GHF, we are building a secure, transparent system to deliver aid directly and effectively — without diversion or delay and in strict adherence to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,’ he added.
Aid hasn’t entered Gaza since March 1, with Israel arguing that sufficient humanitarian assistance entered the Strip during a six-week ceasefire.
In recent weeks, though, some officials in the IDF have begun warning the political echelon that the enclave is on the brink of starvation.
Complicating matters, Israel began ‘broad’ ground operations in several areas of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, as part of the opening phase of a new major offensive. Palestinian officials reported more than 100 people killed over the past 24 hours in Israeli strikes.