Tel Aviv, Israel
CNN
–
Israel has agreed to allow some food to Gaza before the newly-approved aid delivery mechanism goes into operation later this month, the head of the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation told CNN.
Jakewood, the foundation’s executive director, doesn’t know when or how many aid trucks Israel will allow for Gaza, but he says he calls the conditions there “clearly urgent” and hopes for a “positive update on it in the coming days.”
The Israeli government, which has blocked assistance to Gaza for nearly 11 weeks, has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the issue.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation implements a new, closely controlled mechanism for the delivery of Gaza aid approved by Israel and the United States.
However, major UN aid groups say there is no evidence of a major diversion of aid in Gaza and they are refusing to participate in the new aid mechanism.
In his first interview since launching the foundation, Wood urged him to deal with and reconsider criticism from the United Nations and other aid groups.
“The plan isn’t perfect, but it will feed people by the end of the month in a scenario where no one has allowed assistance in the last 10 weeks,” Wood said.
“In the end, the community will face choice. This will be a mechanism by which aid can be distributed to Gaza. Are you willing to participate? The answer will be pretty critical to feed 2.2 million people in a very desperate situation.”
Without the support of major UN agencies, Wood said it was “hard to say” whether his foundation could distribute enough aid to feed Gaza’s 2.1 million population. He said the foundation is currently planning to provide 300 million meals in its first 90 days, and it has admitted that it is “not enough.”
Wood said he believes much of the humanitarian community’s opposition to the new mechanism is based on misinformation. He says that the Israeli military provides security directly to aid distribution sites and is falsely claiming that biometric data is shared with the Israeli government.
“I can’t blame the humanist community for crying out the foul in that misinformation. I wouldn’t have joined those same plans, but that’s not a plan,” Wood said.
He added, “Clearly… not part of what forces the Palestinian population to dislocate or displace.”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will first launch three distribution sites in three Gaza in southern Gaza, Wood, despite much of the strip’s population being in the central and northern regions.
The UN previously warned that, as Israeli Defense Minister Katz said earlier this month, focusing on these locations could be viewed as encouraging them to encourage Israel’s publicly stated goal of enforcing the “wide Gazan population” from northern Gaza.
According to Wood, Israel has agreed to allow the foundation to establish two sites in northern Gaza.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is expected to be able to feed about 60% of Gaza’s population in the first few weeks. Wood said it is not clear how long it will take to cover the needs of the entire population.
He was pressed by Israel’s claims that Hamas was stealing humanitarian aid — Hamas and the aid organization denies — Wood said “it really doesn’t matter.”
“Israel controls access to Gaza. If they believe there is a large portion of the aid being blocked by Hamas and other non-state actors, then there is no choice but to create a mechanism that works with its composition and its framing,” Wood said.
“Like most situations, I think every story has three aspects. There is one side, the other. There is the truth in between. I’m not here to make a judgment about either of them. I’m here to solve the problems and feed people.”
The foundation’s operations will be protected by UG Solutions, a private American security contractor equipped with a Gaza vehicle checkpoint during a ceasefire earlier this year.
Wood, a US Marine Corps veteran, said the contractor is responsible for protecting aid trucks from the Gaza border to distribution sites and would not be involved in the distribution of aid to civilians.
Wood said they would operate “under strict engagement rules,” but he refused to share because of operational security, but said they would adhere to international law and norms.
