JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli officials are considering arming civilians in the Gaza Strip to ensure the security of humanitarian aid convoys in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli daily Israel Hayom reported on Friday.
A distribution of food aid in the north of the Gaza Strip, where famine threatens, turned into tragedy on February 29 when Israeli soldiers fired on the crowd, killing dozens.
The drama, which aroused international disapproval, brought to light the still unresolved problem of the logistics of humanitarian aid, supposed to be coordinated between Israel and the UN agencies.
Gazan municipal police officers refuse to provide protection for convoys for fear of being targeted by Israeli forces, Israel equating the civil administration of the enclave with Hamas, against which it has been at war since October 7.
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According to Israel Hayom, the civilians chosen to ensure the security of aid distributions would have no links with the Islamist movement and other Palestinian armed groups. Who would they be? The newspaper does not provide details but states that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a decision on the matter.
The Prime Minister’s office refused to comment on the article in question.
(Reporting James Mackenzie in Jerusalem, Michelle Nichols in New York and Nidal Al-Mughrabi in Cairo, French version Sophie Louet)
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