Palestine: MSF statement on the dehumanizing and ineffective plan to militarize aid in Gaza
The disastrous start of the food distribution coordinated by the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation confirmed that the US-Israel plan to instrumentalize humanitarian assistance is ineffective. On May 27, the first afternoon of distribution in Rafah, south Gaza, dozens of people were shot and injured as wholly insufficient amounts of basic lifesaving supplies were distributed amid chaos.
Palestinians – deprived of food, water and medical assistance for nearly three months – were penned in by fences as they waited to receive basic necessities for survival. This is a stark reminder of the dehumanizing treatment imposed by Israeli authorities for more than 19 months.
Through this dangerous and reckless approach, food is not being distributed where it’s needed most but is instead directed only to areas where Israeli forces choose to amass civilians. This means the most at-risk individuals – especially the elderly and people with disabilities – have virtually no chance of accessing the food they desperately need.
The claim that this unprincipled, failing mechanism is necessary to prevent the diversion of assistance is false. Since the start of the war, MSF has directly treated patients when we have been able to bring supplies into Gaza. This initiative seems to be a cynical ploy to feign compliance with International Humanitarian Law. In practice, it uses aid as a tool to forcibly displace people as part of what appears to be a broader strategy to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip – and to justify the continuation of a war waged without limits.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian system is being strangled by the restrictions imposed upon it. Israeli authorities have allowed a trickle of aid trucks into Gaza, only to obstruct them immediately after they cross the border, preventing lifesaving assistance from reaching the people who need it most, including children and pregnant and lactating women.
Forcing humanitarian organizations to move such inadequate amounts of assistance, when the Israeli siege has created a situation of unbearable need and despair, is leading to lootings. This is the consequence of a society being pushed to the brink, its very fabric torn apart by relentless violence and deprivation. The outcome is more preventable deaths and injuries and the impossibility of delivering assistance in a way that respects people’s dignity. This is part of a broader tactic to reinforce a one-sided narrative: the only way to deliver humanitarian assistance is to militarize it.
Along with displacement orders and bombing campaigns that kill civilians, weaponizing aid in this manner may constitute crimes against humanity. Only a lasting ceasefire and the immediate opening of Gaza’s borders for humanitarian assistance – including food, medical supplies, fuel and equipment – can ease this man-made catastrophe.
