Exclusive-US mulls Gaza aid plan that would replace controversial GHF aid operation

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By Phil Stewart and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is considering a proposal for humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza that would replace the controversial U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to a copy of the plan seen by Reuters.

It is one of several concepts being explored, said a U.S. official and a humanitarian official familiar with the plan, as Washington seeks to facilitate increased deliveries of assistance to the Palestinian enclave after two years of war.

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in place for 13 days. Under that deal some more aid is now entering Gaza, where a global hunger monitor warned in August that famine had taken hold.

The “operational backbone” of the proposal seen by Reuters would be a so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Belt” – 12-16 humanitarian hubs positioned along the line to which Israeli forces have withdrawn within Gaza. Those hubs would serve people on both sides of the line. 

The hubs would also include “voluntary reconciliation facilities” for militants to give up their weapons and receive amnesty, and forward operating bases for future forces with the planned international stabilization force to help demilitarize Gaza.

“The U.N. and NGOs in Gaza will be mandated to use the platform run by the CMCC and will provide the goods distributed from the hubs,” according to the proposal, which also says the aim would be for all aid in Gaza to be delivered via the hubs within 90 days. 

“CMCC will monitor and enforce security of convoys through drone monitoring, ensuring Hamas does not interdict trucks,” it says. Israel and the U.S. have accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the militant group denies. 

UN, AID GROUPS LIKELY TO BE WARY OF SUCH A PLAN

The United Nations and international aid groups are likely to be wary of the plan that in part resembles the GHF method of using secure distribution hubs and armed escorts to transport aid.

Before the ceasefire, Israel and the U.S. wanted the U.N. to work through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the U.N. and aid groups refused, questioning the neutrality of the GHF and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

“The ‘aid hubs’ they describe are very concerning as they resemble GHF sites in areas controlled by” Israeli forces, said a senior international aid official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The proposal reflected a conceptual approach being explored by the U.S., said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. But the official said it was not the only concept for an aid operation and declined to speculate about the likelihood it would be implemented.

Asked for comment on the proposal, the U.S. military’s Central Command referred Reuters to its statement from Tuesday on the opening of the Civil-Military Coordination Center, which is charged with facilitating the flow of security and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A humanitarian official familiar with the proposal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they understood “the sharing of that document was premature”, and it does not currently reflect “actual decisions or policy.” Instead the proposal was “more like a white paper” – an informative document that proposes an option on a particular issue, the official said. 

If a formal plan reflecting the ideas in the proposal was approved, it would represent “a warmed-over version of what GHF tried to do,” said the humanitarian official.

PROPOSAL WOULD SEE GHF ‘ABSORBED/REPLACED’ BY OTHER AID GROUPS

Under the proposal seen by Reuters, the hubs would be used for: secure aid depots to distribute food, water, medical supplies and other aid directly to civilians; logistics hubs and warehouses from which aid groups could distribute same-day rations and goods to civilians deep in Gaza using small pick-up trucks; infrastructure hubs to restore water, electricity and sanitation, medical facilities, and mass kitchens and bakeries.

The proposal says the GHF would be “absorbed/replaced” by the UAE/Morocco Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian aid organization. 

“Samaritan’s Purse has been approached about being involved in the U.S. government’s plan to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. We do not know specifics, because those are still being developed,” said Stephen Sneed, spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse.

The long-term plan of the GHF is to continue to deliver aid as long as it is needed, said a GHF spokesperson when asked about the proposal. The GHF has said it currently has funding to continue operating until the end of November.

The GHF has temporarily paused its operations, last distributing aid 13 days ago. It has dismantled one of its four distribution sites, but a GHF spokesperson said that site could reopen elsewhere in Gaza. 

A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said among the considerations was how GHF infrastructure, including its sites and aid in its possession could instead be used and distributed by other aid groups. Many European nations were opposed to GHF having any future role in Gaza, the diplomat said. 

 U.N. agencies, international aid groups and donors took part in the first meeting convened by the U.S.-led CMCC on Monday, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Wednesday.

“We are still holding discussions, and our commitment to scale up aid delivery to reach all people in need in Gaza remains unwavering,” the OCHA spokesperson said. 

(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Jonathan Landay and Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by Alex Cornwell in Jerusalem; Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Daniel Wallis)