As aid would only be allowed through an Israeli crossing and not through Rafah, it would make operating in Gaza all but impossible for the UN relief agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa) – by far the biggest aid organisation in Gaza – which has been banned by Israel.
The Israeli military has presented the UN and aid organisations with a plan for running Gaza that involves Israel having tighter control than it did before the war, according to humanitarian officials, casting doubt on whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has any intention of carrying out a military withdrawal.
Aid officials familiar with the Cogat briefing said the plan was presented as an established fact, with Israeli officials claiming it already had full US support, and would therefore be hard for the UN to resist.
The only entrance to Gaza through which aid would be allowed under the plan would be the Kerem Shalom crossing, controlled by Israel.
The blueprint appears to be a version of a scheme tried more than a year ago in Gaza, known as “humanitarian bubbles”, involving aid distributions from small, highly controlled areas that would expand over time.
