Unconfirmed TV report says government votes to allow aid distribution in north Gaza

The security cabinet overnight decided to allow the distribution of aid in the northern part of the Strip, according to an unconfirmed Channel 12 news report.

The report does not make clear if the aid operations will be carried out by the controversial US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has facilities in south and central Gaza, or by United Nations-backed aid groups.

The report says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against the measure, reasoning it would impede efforts to move the Gazan population to the south of the Strip.

Israel has accused Hamas of hijacking aid deliveries by other humanitarian groups. The GHF, which, in addition to aid workers, employs private US military contractors to protect its distribution sites, says that since starting operations in May, it has delivered supplies to Palestinians, while other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted.”

The GHF bypasses traditional aid channels, including the United Nations, which says the US-based organization is neither impartial nor neutral, and forces Gazans to walk long distances to reach the aid.

The UN Human Rights Office said Friday more than 500 people had been killed in the vicinity of the GHF sites since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza in May.

Israel has accused Hamas of attacking Gazan aid seekers and falsifying death tolls but has also acknowledged that “several” Palestinian civilians have been killed by the IDF near GHF aid distribution sites. The IDF says troops have been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned.”