U.S. says Israel won't be involved in Gaza aid distribution

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 09, 2025 12:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

A U.S.-backed mechanics for distributing assistance into Gaza should instrumentality effect soon, Washington's ambassador to Israel said connected Friday up of President Donald Trump's sojourn to the Middle East, but helium gave fewer details.

Gaza's residents are facing a increasing humanitarian situation with Israel enforcing a months-long blockade connected assistance supplies to the tiny Palestinian enclave successful the 3rd twelvemonth of its war against militant radical Hamas.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee said respective partners had already committed to taking portion successful the assistance statement but declined to sanction them, saying details would beryllium released successful the coming days.

"There has been a bully archetypal response," the erstwhile Republican politician told reporters astatine the embassy successful Jerusalem.

"There are non-profit organizations that volition beryllium a portion of the leadership," helium said, adding that different organizations and governments would besides request to beryllium involved, though not Israel.

A caller U.S.-backed radical called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has enactment guardant an assistance organisation program on the lines of Israel's demands, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. The radical is made up of American information contractors, erstwhile authorities officials, ex-military officers and humanitarian officials.

It wasn't instantly wide if this was the program that Huckabee was referring to. But assistance workers person said the instauration of the radical does small to assuage their concerns.

Hamas elder authoritative Basem Naim said the program was adjacent to "the Israeli imaginativeness of militarizing aid" and said it would fail, astatine the aforesaid clip informing section parties against "becoming tools successful the Zionist occupation's schemes."

Trump, who seeks a landmark deal that would spot Israel and Saudi Arabia found diplomatic relations, volition sojourn Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates adjacent week.

Anticipation has been building about a caller assistance plan for Gaza, which has been devastated by 19 months of an Israeli subject run against Hamas that has destroyed overmuch of the infrastructure and displaced most of its 2.3 cardinal colonisation respective times.

"It volition not beryllium perfect, particularly successful the aboriginal days," Huckabee said. "It is simply a logistical situation to marque this work."

WATCH | Israel plans to intensify subject operations in Gaza: 

Imminent famine confronting population: UN

European leaders and assistance groups have criticized a plan by Israel  for backstage companies to instrumentality implicit humanitarian distributions and grow its subject run successful the enclave.

Israel has accused agencies including the United Nations of allowing assistance to autumn into the hands of Hamas, which it has said is seizing supplies intended for civilians and fixed them to its ain forces or selling them to rise funds — thing Hamas has denied.

Israel has prevented assistance from entering Gaza since breaking a ceasefire with Hamas successful March, which has prompted UN warnings of imminent famine confronting its population.

Islam Hajjaj says her six-year-old girl Najwa is suffering from terrible malnutrition arsenic a effect of the blockade. Najwa's 1 of astir tens of thousands of children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, who are showing signs of malnutrition.

Hajjaj said her girl weighed astir 22 pounds earlier the war. Now, she weighs 15 pounds, importantly underweight for her age.

"She became a quality skeleton," Hajjaj told CBC News connected Friday.

"The warfare has made her concern worse and worse. She goes to slumber and wakes up wishing for milk."

WATCH | Signs of acute malnutrition showing successful children amid aid, nutrient blockade: 

Criticism of assistance plans

Trump had teased a large announcement up of the trip. It was unclear if that was what Huckabee announced connected Friday.

"The Israelis are going to beryllium progressive successful providing indispensable subject information due to the fact that it is simply a warfare zone, but they volition not beryllium progressive successful the organisation of the nutrient oregon adjacent bringing the nutrient into Gaza," Huckabee told a quality conference.

Asked whether the proviso of aid hinged on a ceasefire being  restored, Huckabee said: "The humanitarian assistance volition not beryllium connected thing different than our quality to get the nutrient into Gaza."

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday criticized emerging plans to instrumentality implicit organisation of assistance in Gaza floated by some Israel and the United States, saying this would summation suffering for children and families.

A connection is circulating among the assistance assemblage for a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that would administer nutrient from 4 "secure organisation sites," resembling plans announced by Israel earlier this week, but drew disapproval that it would efficaciously worsen displacement among the Gaza population.

Huckabee said determination would beryllium an "initial number" of organisation centres that could provender "perhaps implicit a cardinal people" earlier being scaled up to yet scope 2 million.

"Private security" would beryllium liable for the information of workers getting into the organisation centres and successful the organisation of the nutrient itself, Huckabee said, declining to remark connected rules of engagement for information personnel.

"Everything would beryllium done successful accordance with planetary law," helium said.

Mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt person not been palmy successful implementing a second phase of the ceasefire. Israel demands the full disarmament of Hamas, which the Islamist radical rejects.

Hamas has said it is consenting to escaped each remaining hostages seized by its gunmen successful attacks connected communities successful confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, and hold to a imperishable ceasefire if Israel pulls retired wholly from Gaza.

The Hamas-led attacks connected Oct.7, 2023 killed 1,200 radical and 251 were taken hostage backmost to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's run has killed much than 52,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to health authorities.