by Seth J. Frantzman
What comes next after the July 5 incident is important in showing that GHF will stay the course. It will also be necessary to learn lessons from the incident.
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The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has faced many challenges since it began distributing aid in Gaza on May 26. However, it has overcome these challenges and continued to deliver aid.
It has provided more than 62 million meals to date and delivered 1.8 million as of July 5. However, on Saturday, two American aid workers were injured in what GHF calls a “targeted terrorist attack during food distribution activities.” This took place at what the organization called SDS-3 in Khan Yunis. This is one of three sites that operated on July 5. The organization has operated at up to four sites throughout the last month and a week.
“This morning, two American aid workers were injured in a targeted terrorist attack during food distribution activities at SDS-3 in Khan Yunis. The attack – which preliminary information indicates was carried out by two assailants who threw two grenades at the Americans – occurred at the conclusion of an otherwise successful distribution in which thousands of Gazans safely received food. No local aid workers or civilians were harmed,” GHF said.
The injured are receiving medical treatment and are stable. GHF says it has “repeatedly warned of credible threats from Hamas, including explicit plans to target American personnel, Palestinian aid workers, and the civilians who rely on our sites for food. Today’s attack tragically affirms those warnings.”
This is the latest threat to the organization. It distributes more than 20,000 boxes of food a day. That is more than one million boxes since May 26. However, this method of distribution has meant that large numbers of civilians come to the sites and take the boxes. This is complex because the civilians have to go through areas controlled nominally by the IDF and then into an area where aid is provided. Security contractors, primarily Americans with former military experience, are involved in securing the areas.
A terror attack targeting GHF appeared to be the sum of all fears because it could derail the program.
“Despite this violence, GHF remains fully committed to its mission: feeding the people of Gaza safely, directly, and at scale. Attempts to disrupt this life-saving work will only deepen the crisis. We will continue to stand with the people of Gaza and do everything in our power to deliver the aid they so urgently need,” GHF says.
It is meaningful for the organization to stay the course
This is meaningful for the organization to stay the course. This comes amid talk of a ceasefire and a push by the Trump administration to end the 636 days of fighting in Gaza.It is unclear how the assailants got into the area with grenades. However, it seems impossible to search all the people who rush toward the sites to get aid.
It would seem that the only way to secure the area is to have security personnel or the IDF positioned far enough away from the delivery area that they can be out of harm's way in case of an incident, while still maintaining control of the overall area. Clearly, this presents a challenge, and terrorists will likely seek to exploit it.
GHF noted that in the incident on July 5, “no local aid workers or civilians were harmed.” Locals are involved in distributing the aid.
John Acree, interim Executive Director of GHF said: “this morning we faced a stark reminder of the risks involved with delivering meals in a warzone: two American aid workers were wounded in a targeted terrorist attack: assailants threw grenades at Americans working at our distribution site in Khan Yunis, injuring them as the day’s distribution concluded.”
GHF says it has warned this could happen. They want the international community to condemn this incident. Hamas has threatened GHF and its workers and would like to derail this aid mechanism. “At what point is allowing Hamas to terrorize aid workers and run a propaganda campaign through Western media no longer acceptable,” GHF said in a statement posted on X.
The July 5 attack is not the first of its kind. Back on June 11, there was also an attack. At the time, it was reported that five people were killed in a Hamas attack on a GHF bus transporting GHF team members.
The victims were local Palestinians. It is clear that there are threats, and this is not an easy problem to solve. The IDF put out a statement about the attack on the GHF but didn’t seem to indicate if the suspects had been found. “on Saturday morning, an update was received from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) stating that terrorists had thrown two grenades into an aid distribution site in Rafah at the end of the aid distribution, while civilians were still present at the site.” The lack of more information is concerning.
As aid continues to get to Gaza, preventing Hamas attacks is key. The organization is not defeated yet, despite 636 days of war. Hamas and other terrorist elements show they are not defeated through their actions. Hamas continues to control around 30-40 percent of Gaza, including the central camps, Gaza City, and other areas near Khan Yunis and Mawasi. It is from these areas that people access the GHF distribution sites.
There is one GHF site in the Netzarim corridor and two others in southern Gaza. The fourth site is also in Tel Al-Sultan in southern Gaza. On June 30, the IDF said it had relocated this site to a nearby location and set up new signs for the civilians.
At the time on June 30, the IDF said that “as part of the framework for distributing food and humanitarian aid in Gaza, carried out by the GHF in coordination with international aid organizations, the IDF is conducting ongoing assessments to improve operational response, minimize friction with the population, and ensure aid reaches its intended recipients and not Hamas.”
What comes next after the July 5 incident is important in showing that GHF will stay the course. It will also be necessary to learn lessons from the incident.
Seth J. Frantzman
Source: https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-860074
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