Israel to allow organizations to distribute aid to Gaza Strip

The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a plan to allow international organizations to distribute more aid in the northern Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel reported on Sunday, citing an official.

A government spokesman declined to comment on the report.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted on X that the Cabinet had made a wrong decision.

Israel has recently backed the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) for the distribution of aid, charging that the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas was deviating the aid for its own purposes. The United States has also backed the new system, but the UN has criticized the decision.

The GHF distribution has been criticized for numerous fatal incidents around its distribution points. It has thus far had no distribution points in the north of the Gaza Strip, where aid has been provided by other international organizations.

Israeli reports spoke of heated conflict at the lengthy Security Cabinet meeting. Smotrich charged that Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir was not fulfilling his mission.

Smotrich repeated his allegations on X to the effect that the general was failing to ensure that aid entering the Gaza Strip did not fall into the hands of Hamas.

Zamir is reported to have responded that Smotrich was weakening Israeli military morale.

Smotrich also criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to implement Cabinet decisions on the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu is dependent on far-right and religious parties for a majority in the Knesset.