The Israel/EU Gaza aid deal: There are more questions than answers ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Friday, July 11, 2025

The Israel/EU Gaza aid deal: There are more questions than answers

Following the Israeli Cabinet’s resolutions and the constructive dialogue between the EU and Israel, significant steps have been agreed by Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

These measures are or will be implemented in the coming days, with the common understanding that aid at scale must be delivered directly to the population and that measures will continue to be taken to ensure that there is no aid diversion to Hamas.

These steps include, among other things, the substantial increase of daily trucks for food and non- food items to enter Gaza, the opening of several other crossing points in both the northern and southern areas; the reopening of the Jordanian and Egyptian aid routes; enabling the distribution of food supplies through bakeries and public kitchens throughout the Gaza strip; the resumption of fuel deliveries for use by humanitarian facilities, up to an operational level; the protection of aid workers; the repair and facilitation of works on vital infrastructure like the resumption of the power supply to the water desalination facility.

The EU stands ready to coordinate with all relevant humanitarian stakeholders, UN agencies and NGOs on the ground, to ensure swift implementation of those urgent steps.

As with all diplomatic statements, this is heavily crafted to reflect political considerations. As such, we do not know critical information, and the devil really is in the details that are not spelled out. We can make some guesses, though.

First of all, it doesn't mention GHF - but it doesn't exclude GHF. So while NGOs and the EU criticize GHF as an aid mechanism, they are not saying that it will not continue.

It mentions "UN agencies" and NGOs. Israel will not deal with UNRWA, and it is not mentioned. whether UNRWA will be involved in this plan is unknown.

How will security be done - how can the aid reliably be transported to the bakeries and public kitchens without being hijacked by Hamas or armed groups? The NGOs will not accept Israeli security, but in reality the aid corridors will be protected by Israel. Yet the "last mile" to areas where the kitchens and bakeries are is up in the air, and this is Israel's primary concern.

So the question is whether Israel is accepting some risk of aid being diverted in order to keep relations with the EU - and whether the potential amount of such diversions would significantly strengthen Hamas. For example, anecdotal evidence shows that the aid distributed before GHF was not given out for free in many cases - people at GHF seemed astonished that they didn't have to pay, and some said explicitly this was the first time they received free aid in the entire war. This was not well reported, and it means that the endpoints of bakeries and kitchens might be run by even NGOs who tacitly allow Hamas to charge the aid recipients, maybe while waiting in lines outside. Reporters in Gaza simply don't report what Hamas doesn't want them to report.

One other detail in the press release is notable, the phrase "the resumption of fuel deliveries for use by humanitarian facilities, up to an operational level." This seems to imply that the agreement is for fuel to be allowed in as needed day by day or week by week, but not stockpiled where it can be stolen or diverted.

If the aid can be given directly to the people, Israel has no objection - despite the slander of antisemitic NGOs that Israel is using "starvation as a weapon of war." The real question is how this can be done securely in areas that the IDF is not in direct control.

And this statement is silent about that.