- Osnat Lubrani
Proactively Improving the Humanitarian Situation in Gaza is in Israel’s Interest
In almost every armed conflict, humanitarian aid is brought in to assist uninvolved populations; the credibility of UN data is secondary to expediting the response to the crisis in Gaza; and Israel currently has no choice but to cooperate with UNRWA | Osnat Lubrani, former UN senior humanitarian coordinator, provides an external perspective on the issue of aid to Gaza and argues for the urgent necessity to improve and speed up the provision and distribution of aid into Gaza – for the population in Gaza, but also for advancing Israel's own interests
A supply truck drives off the American-built floating dock in Gaza, June 2024 | Photo: Petty Officer 1st Class Jordan Kirk Johnson, Public Domain*
"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy opens with the famous line: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." In my 26 years working for the UN, I have witnessed suffering, tragedy, and misery across the globe – from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Sudan to Ethiopia, Haiti, and Congo.
Every crisis imprints a trauma unique to the affected zone, but unlike the aforementioned quote, there are also similarities across all humanitarian crises. My personal experience enables me to provide the Israeli reader with an international perspective on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which in recent months has become one of the most severe in the world. Although the war in Gaza was initiated by Hamas and its allies, who carried out the massacre of October 7th, 2023, the international system, as well as international law, nowadays see Israel as responsible for the humanitarian situation in Gaza – whether it likes it or not.
Israel must act urgently to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This is first and foremost a clear moral imperative, but there are also pragmatic aspects: such actions would reduce the cumulative negative effect of the misery of the Gaza population on Israel's security and legal status, as well as improve its international standing.
Far from sufficient
The war that brought disaster to Israel, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip began on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas forces infiltrated Israel. They killed 1,150 people, looted, raped, tortured, and finally kidnapped 251 Israelis and foreigners, including women, the elderly, and infants to Gaza. More than a hundred of them have not yet been returned as of this writing. Additionally, since October 7, approximately 200,000 Israeli citizens have become displaced due to the fighting around Gaza and in Northern Israel, and it is unclear when they will be able to return to their homes.
Since that horrific day, the Israeli public has been trapped in an echo chamber of rage and revenge, mourning, trauma, concern for the safety of the remaining hostages and their return, fear for personal, family, and community security, and anxiety for the State's security and indeed its future. Under such conditions, it seems there is simply no capacity to contain the monumental disaster that is simultaneously befalling the population in the Gaza Strip.
While Israelis remain largely shielded from the harsh images and stories coming from Gaza, these nevertheless reach officials, as well as viewers and readers, across the entire world. And though Israel today allows more aid to enter Gaza than in the beginning of the war, experts argue that it is not sufficiente to stop the ongoing deterioration.
According to external estimates (not from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry), as of mid-August 2024, the death toll in Gaza has exceeded 30,000.[1] According to UNICEF, 14,000 of the dead are children.[2] Nearly two million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes, most of them more than once. Families in Gaza are surviving in the middle of a battlefield, in heat and pollution, without medical aid, water, or shelter, and under a growing threat of hunger, and they urgently need humanitarian aid.
At the start of the war, Israel faced heavy accusations for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. In response to accusations from international parties,[3] and a petition to the Supreme Court by human rights organizations, Israel acknowledged its failures and committed to enhancing its efforts.[4] The State allows more aid to enter Gaza today, but professionals claim it is still not enough, and frequent delays are hindering progress to halt the ongoing deterioration of the crisis.[5]
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is, of course, not static, and every military action leads to further harm to the population and changes in their level of need for humanitarian aid. When the IDF orders the population to evacuate for its own safety, it creates new challenges, including access to shelter, water, medical aid, and more. Israel's willingness to allow humanitarian aid also fluctuates. Such accumulated fluctuations, which worsen the humanitarian crisis or prevent aid from reaching the most vulnerable groups, fuel criticism against Israel.
There is also no doubt that beyond the question of providing humanitarian goods, due to the ongoing fighting, the destruction of infrastructure, and the collapse of civil governance and the rule of law, it is difficult and complex to ensure that the aid entering reaches all those in need throughout the Strip in a manner that meets their needs and respects humanitarian principles.[6]
Why work to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza?
There are many reasons why Israel should increase the pace of humanitarian aid entry into Gaza and expand its scope, immediately. Although they are intertwined, I will briefly review some reasons for this individually:
International Standing
Despite all the challenges Israel has faced for years in the international arena concerning its occupation of the West Bank and the accusations of its violation of the rights of the Palestinian people, Israel has largely succeeded in maintaining a reputation as a democratic country whose foundations are based on justice and equal rights, and as a UN member that contributes to the promotion of human rights and women's rights, while respecting international law.
However, after Israel initially received widespread solidarity and empathy in many parts of the world following the October 7th massacre, the war it launched in the Gaza Strip and the ensuing humanitarian crisis severely damaged its image globally. Today, Israel’s name is mentioned alongside those of rogue states under international sanctions – an unprecedented low. This negative image has political, security, legal, economic, and other implications, including damage to cultural, scientific, and academic cooperation. In fact, these are affecting, and will continue to affect, every Israeli.
One of the main reasons for this damning status is the harsh images and stories from the Gaza Strip, which are broadcasted on all media networks worldwide but almost never reach Israeli television screens and news pages. From the international community's perspective, there is no dispute that the uninvolved population in Gaza deserves broader and urgent aid. In the eyes of the world, Israel has an obligation, as a warring party, to actively facilitate the delivery of this aid to its destination and even to help in this effort.
(It goes without saying, as the UN has also determined, that aside from the October 7 crimes against Israel, Hamas has violated international humanitarian law against Palestinian civilians since the beginning of Israel's offensive, including using civilians as human shields and using vital civilian infrastructure as cover for its forces.)
In the eyes of many around the world, including colleagues with whom I spoke, the humanitarian situation in the Strip indicates that Israel is not just fighting Hamas, but seeks to take revenge on the entire Palestinian population in the Strip ("There are no innocents in Gaza"),[7] promote the transfer of the population,[8] and annex the territory.[9]
Contributing directly to this perception, among other things, are the severe restrictions Israel imposed at the start of the war on the entry of humanitarian aid; [10] the difficulties faced by all UN agencies in obtaining entry visas to the country, including for the most senior officials; [11] the failure of Israel’s military and police to prevent violent attacks by Israeli extremists on aid trucks on their way to Gaza, whose aim was to intercept their entry into the Strip; [12] the killing of humanitarian workers in Gaza, even if accidentally; [13] alleged abuse and deaths at the "Sdeh Teiman" military base; [14] statements by ministers, politicians, and rabbis in Israel [15] – and more.
Even when Israel takes positive steps to increase the scope of aid to the Strip, it is perceived as doing so reluctantly and only in response to mounting external pressure – and not out of a deliberate and proactive policy to ensure the safety of the population and to assist the international forces operating on the ground.[16] A change in approach towards the entry of humanitarian aid, alongside genuine openness to cooperate with the international parties involved, will allow Israel to show the world that it is attentive to concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Legal Imperatives
Under the Geneva Conventions to which it is a signatory, Israel, as a "warring party" in Gaza, is obligated to strictly adhere to prohibitions against harming civilians, using starvation as a method of warfare, etc. As hunger in Gaza worsens and hospitals struggle to function, the severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza's civilians at the start of the war, the failure to prevent violent attacks on aid trucks whose entry was permitted, as well as the statements by decision-makers mentioned above, strengthen the position many international bodies share (against Israel's strong opposition) that defining it as an "occupying power" in the Strip is consistent with the reality on the ground.[17] And according to this definition, Israel's obligations to the population in Gaza are doubled.[18]
Logistical and Sanitary Reasons
The most direct and efficient way to bring aid into Gaza is through Israel, which has a large seaport nearby and several shared border crossings with the Strip. However, due to its government’s prolonged refusal to allow aid entry through these crossings, the U.S. built an expensive and inefficient temporary dock to bring aid by sea. Airdropping aid is also problematic, both in terms of accuracy and distribution, and bringing aid through the Sinai Peninsula takes longer and is more expensive and complicated than through Israel.
From a purely security standpoint, cooperation with international bodies would allow Israel to better monitor the goods entering through its border crossings, and ease concerns about smuggling.
Finally, another important Israeli interest in increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza relates to the public health crisis in the Strip. In a paper published by the Mitvim Institute in July 2024, public health experts detailed the severe risks to the population living in overcrowded tent camps and public buildings. It explained the increased risks for an urban population unaccustomed to living in conditions of extreme heat in camps for displaced persons with no access to basic infrastructure.
The rise in infectious diseases due to the lack of water and sanitation poses a threat of epidemics throughout the Strip that could spill over into Israel. In fact, this is already happening with the detection of polio concentrations in Gaza's sewage.[19]
Israel recently recognized the sanitation disaster in Gaza and permitted sewage infrastructure repair work in the Strip. This step is important but does not come fast enough; other immediate steps are concurrently required.
To save lives, one must sometimes work with the devil
I served as the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine from 2018 to 2022, including in the early months after Russia's invasion of the country in February 2022. Before that, I held this role in other countries that experienced humanitarian crises caused by natural disasters and climate change.
From my experience, humanitarian aid, in any context, always goes hand in hand with conflicting interests that can lead to disagreements. In a crisis caused by military conflict, when military objectives clash with those of protecting the population on the enemy side, the challenges to humanitarian aid are inherently much more complicated. However, even in these cases, aid agencies and their workers seek first and foremost to provide protection and assistance to those affected, prioritizing the most vulnerable – women and children, the elderly, the injured, and the weak.
For this purpose, and this purpose alone, they must cooperate with all parties involved – governments, armies, and sometimes non-state actors, including militant groups. These efforts force humanitarian actors to navigate local and international politics, sometimes mixed with lack of professionalism, waste, and even corruption. In some cases, they even require cooperation with the most malevolent forces, like Hamas, to save lives and help the affected local population. In my experience, in most cases, this is possible.
In recent months, many claims have been raised in Israel against the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. I will attempt to respond here to the most common ones:
"There are no 'uninvolved Palestinians' in Gaza, so aid should not be transferred to the Strip"
In 2014, Moscow helped pro-Russian forces take over the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and establish separatist regimes that opposed the government in Kyiv and ruled by force. In the eight years that passed until Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, humanitarian aid reached the population in these conflict zones – some under Ukrainian control and some under separatist control.
As a humanitarian system, we achieved an understanding between the UN and the Red Cross (ICRC), with the assistance of the OSCE, the Ukrainian government, and the illegitimate separatist forces, regarding the entry of humanitarian aid to all conflict zones. The Ukrainians understood that the cooperation of humanitarian organization representatives with the pro-Russian forces did not grant the latter political or international legitimacy in these territories. We established a coordination system with all parties that allowed for pauses in the fighting at prescheduled times, which all sides respected. These "windows of silence," as they were dubbed, enabled the safe entry of aid convoys and the urgent repair of vital infrastructure.
A food voucher distributed in Eastern Ukraine, 2015. In most cases, humanitarian organizations succeed in operating in conflict zones | Photo: WFP/EU/Pete Kiehart (CC BY-ND 2.0)
During that time, expressing a pro-Ukrainian stance in the separatist-controlled areas was punishable by severe penalties without trial, or even "disappearance." Some in the Ukrainian public perceived the silence of the residents on the other side as proof of their siding with these illegitimate forces.
But in my visits to these regions, in all my conversations with the residents – even as I avoided discussing politics – a similar message emerged: "We are not interested in the success of any side and do not want to live in war. We urgently need humanitarian aid to survive, but more than anything, we want to see an end to dependence on such aid and to return to earning a dignified living." I heard a similar message from those in need in other crises, including in Sudan, Afghanistan, Haiti, Congo, and Ethiopia.
Although Hamas may differ from other cases, my goal here is to demonstrate that humanitarian aid can reach those in need even in a situation of war between a regular army and illegitimate armed forces.
"Transferring humanitarian aid indirectly helps Hamas"
The diversion of aid is a widespread phenomenon in crises worldwide and is likely occurring in Gaza too, although the extent is unknown. However, there are methods to prevent or minimize it: increased presence of reliable humanitarian actors, both international and local on the ground to closely monitor and evaluate the aid entering, has been proven to help.
Unfortunately, the situation in Gaza today does not allow for the necessary monitoring, for several reasons: First, there is an exceptionally high risk to the lives of humanitarian workers due to the ongoing fighting; Second, as mentioned above, Israel has imposed restrictions on the entry of humanitarian workers into Israel and from there to the Strip (including delays in renewing visas and even their revocation);[20] Third, the war has led to the collapse of all public systems in Gaza, including law enforcement (which was part of Hamas's governance that Israel seeks to eliminate), and the sharp rise in crime in the Strip makes it difficult to ensure that aid indeed reaches those most in need.[21]
Indeed, there are documented cases where armed individuals in the Strip are seen looting aid trucks, and there are many reports of a black market for food and other goods that were stolen.[22] However, from the international community's perspective, the aforementioned fear that it will be diverted to Hamas, does not justify preventing aid from reaching the population in Gaza. Such a move is widely considered immoral and constitutes a gross violation of international law. It also contributes to the tarnishing of Israel's image.
Restoring mutual trust and improving cooperation between Israel and the international humanitarian system can help overcome this sensitive issue and help Israel address the claims against it.
"The UN is lying about the scope of the crisis in Gaza"
In every humanitarian crisis, aid organizations routinely and continuously assess the scope of the crisis and the population's needs. The purpose of such assessments is to enable organizations to craft a strategic response and establish a comprehensive monitoring system that will also inform resource allocation.
At a time when the number of people in need of humanitarian aid worldwide has reached an unprecedented high of 362 million,[23] and simultaneously, countries who are the main donor countries to humanitarian aid are cutting their contributions,[24] there is a need for even more careful assessment of the extent and severity of need as a basis for planning, prioritizing the weakest and those most in need. There are proven methods for rapid initial crisis assessment and in-depth assessments on various topics (access to water, food, medical care, shelter, etc.).
The humanitarian system strives to collect reliable data independently, but in a state of continuous war, this task becomes even more complex. The first significant and challenging obstacle is ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers, who are experts in assessing and collecting reliable data. The second challenge is that in a situation where the population is repeatedly displaced, the data changes daily.
A third challenge is that when the parties involved in the conflict provide the data – whether the government or another entity in the area where the disaster occurred – they will often try to skew the numbers, sometime to prioritize a specific area or ethnic group at the expense of others, contrary to humanitarian principles. This inherent conflict of interest makes it difficult for aid organizations to rely on the information provided by the warring parties.
For humanitarian workers, collecting accurate data and verifying it during war is crucial not only for distributing aid wisely, but is indeed crucial for their ability to operate at all. Donors to aid organizations expect their decisions to be based on reliable data, and may withdraw funding in cases of blatant interference with the numbers.
At the same time, humanitarian workers depend on the local government or ruling authority's consent to operate in their territory, and these have their interests. The politics of information and analysis in extreme emergencies is a complex and sensitive issue, particularly concerning determining the level of hunger (IPC), as seen in the Gaza crisis and others, such as those in Ethiopia and northern Nigeria.[25]
In the Gaza war, the dispute over the accuracy of data and numbers is particularly difficult given the deep levels of mistrust between Israel and the UN. Although this is not the place to delve into the roots of this mistrust, which has existed for many years and has intensified since October 7, it is enough to say that the UN is perceived in Israel as siding with the party fighting the state and as a biased body against it. On the other hand, there is deep frustration in the UN over what is seen as Israel's lack of cooperation and unwillingness to prevent harm and ensure the protection of Palestinian residents in the occupied territories from severe violations of their rights.
Prolonged disputes over data reliability are secondary to the grim reality: there is no disagreement on the extreme severity of food shortages and living conditions in Gaza, and all signs indicate that without effective intervention, the crisis will worsen and cause further suffering to many more civilians living the war. Despite the importance of meticulous planning mentioned above, it cannot be a reason for the prolonged delay in providing aid to those who need it most.
"UNRWA should be shut down"
UNRWA was established in 1949 as a temporary aid agency for Palestinian refugees and to create jobs until a permanent solution was found for them. In 1967, after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Jordan and Egypt, respectively, it reached an agreement with UNRWA that the agency would continue its operations for the Palestinian population in these territories. After 75 years, UNRWA has become a massive provider of education, health, and social services to 5.9 million Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
Today, UNRWA is the largest aid organization operating in the Gaza Strip and the only one capable of overseeing the distribution of humanitarian aid. It is a fact that Israel has relied, and continues to rely on, the agency to provide aid and services to the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (even though Israel claims it no longer controls the latter) – something the State, as an occupying power according to international law, is obligated to do by law.
Israel's harsh criticism of UNRWA stems primarily from the fact that the agency's mandate preserves the idea of the Palestinian right of return.[26] Alongside Israel, many others see a problem with this mandate.[27] Unlike the UNHCR, which has been mandated to not care for refugees worldwide but also find them "durable solutions," such as integration into host countries that offer refugees citizenship, UNRWA's exclusive mandate permits the agency only to provide aid, and only to Palestinians. This may be a problem, but not one that UNRWA is tasked with solving.
Israel's fundamental issue with UNRWA is compounded by certain severe accusations. The State accuses the agency of educating for hatred of Israel[28] (an accusation UNRWA completely rejects),[29] and according to IDF findings in the "Swords of Iron" war, the agency's facilities were used by Hamas for military activities.[30]
For its part, UNRWA condemned the alleged existence and use of tunnels by Palestinian armed groups beneath its facilities, but there is still a necessity for a thorough investigation of everything that was done or not done, by UNWRA and others, to allow the use of these facilities, as well as the digging of tunnels under civilian infrastructure, for military purposes.
Following Israeli accusations that 12 out of 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza were involved in Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7,[31] and 2,135 more employees are either members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad,[32] there have been vocal cries to shut the agency down. Several countries even froze their contributions to the UNRWA, but most of them, including the U.S., unfroze them[33] after the agency conducted an independent investigation and took immediate steps regarding the cases where Israel provided the necessary information as a basis for the investigation.[34] In August, the UN acknowledged that nine UNRWA employees were fired after they "likely" participated in the October 7th attack.[35]
Israelis may find it uncomfortable to acknowledge or admit this, but it is keenly aware that no other international body can currently replace UNRWA in Gaza. There is also a consensus across the humanitarian community that no other organization can fill UNRWA's role at this time.
I know that humanitarian agencies, even the largest ones, capable of providing professional aid according to their focused mandate, cannot operate in Gaza without relying on UNRWA. The agency's broad mandate to provide a variety of public services, as well as the experience and local knowledge it has accumulated over the years, exclusively enables it to support the activities of all other humanitarian agencies and organizations and support them.
If UNRWA is forced to cut back its activities or even cease them, there will be short- and long-term consequences for Gaza and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, but also for Israel. This is because, with the agency gone, Israel will be obligated, as an occupying power according to international law, to provide by itself all the services that UNRWA currently provides to the Palestinian population.
Recommended Policy Steps
From a humanitarian perspective, this is what Israel can and must do in Gaza:
Improve working relations with the UN
Israel's relationship with former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, and his team was particularly strained, but he recently ended his term. Other senior officials in the UN humanitarian aid system have also left and several will be replaced soon. This is an opportunity to open a new chapter in the relationship – both for the Israelis and the UN.
Israel should reach out and invite the new UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs immediately upon his/her appointment to an open dialogue, both regarding the current situation and for plotting the way forward. Such a proactive move will expedite increased help to Gaza’s residents, and ultimately will also benefit Israel. The UN, for its part, needs to show openness to listening to Israel's claims and to diversifying its approach, beyond public advocacy statements, to humanitarian diplomacy.
Besides hurling mutual accusations when each side is deaf to the arguments of the other, the focus needs to shift towards pragmatic cooperation and the rebuilding of trust. This will better serve the urgent need to bring to a halt further deterioration in the humanitarian crisis and create better conditions for its alleviation.
Such change will both advance the goals of humanitarian organizations and simultaneously serve Israel. From my experience in many crisis zones, there are ways to overcome sensitive issues, whether regarding data reliability or calming concerns about aid diversion to Hamas.
Establish an Alternative to Working through COGAT
The IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) currently coordinates, among its many other duties, the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. However, COGAT is a military apparatus primarily preoccupied with fulfilling its military objectives, and the humanitarian issue is not its main concern. For this reason, Israel needs a professional civilian body to coordinate humanitarian aid – such as exists in many countries worldwide, at the ministerial and administrative levels.
In all humanitarian crises, a leading civilian local office is responsible for humanitarian actions in emergencies. For example, as the humanitarian coordinator for the crisis in Ukraine, in addition to coordination with the Ukrainian military and security mechanisms, I cooperated at the political level with the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for humanitarian aid, as well as a special team in the President's Office. Concurrently, at the professional level, I worked with various government ministries led by the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Health, along with other ministries at the national, regional, and local levels.
Furthermore, in the Solomon Islands, where the crisis stemmed from armed inter-tribal conflict, I cooperated closely with the minister heading the Ministry of National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace, alongside national and international security forces.
Israel has assisted in many humanitarian crises worldwide, including recently in Ukraine. There are Israeli non-governmental organizations and local experts who are well acquainted with the international aid system. These include individuals who have worked for, or are working in, UN agencies and other organizations, and who can advise and take part in establishing such a system. A paper by the Mitvim Institute and the Israeli Society for International Development (SID-Israel), titled "Humanitarian Strategy in the Israel-Hamas War," outlines paths of action in such a trajectory.[36]
Work with UNRWA
UNRWA is at the center of accusations of anti-Israel bias within the UN, given the allegations against its staff and findings that its facilities were used by Hamas for military purposes. Even if the agency is not entirely blameless in its actions in Gaza, working to shut down its activities, while there is no viable substitute, would be a strategic mistake that could lead to disastrous consequences for Palestinians and Israel, similar to the those made by the U.S. in Iraq in 2003.[37] There, the total destruction of the system of administration, especially the public systems that maintained law and order and provided essential services to citizens, led to the rise of forces even more extreme than Saddam Hussein's regime.
Although this is a particularly bitter pill to swallow, Israel has no real other choice. Only a political solution will create the conditions that will allow UNRWA to transfer responsibility for providing all the essential services and aid it currently provides in Gaza to a local Palestinian government, one that Israel can trust as not posing a threat to its existence.
At the end of the war, it may be worth considering accelerating efforts to integrate UNRWA into the UNHCR. Such a move could advance a sustainable solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees. Israel, for its part, may expect neighboring and other countries to take responsibility for this matter, but it will also have to do so itself.
Conclusion
My decades-long experience at the UN has shown me that even in cases where the goals of humanitarian organizations conflict with those of governments and fighting forces, cooperation can be achieved, negotiations can be held, issues can be discussed, and solutions can be found that allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need in conflict zones.
A change in Israel's approach to the entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza; opening a new chapter regarding cooperation with international parties on humanitarian issues; and relying on a civilian community of Israeli humanitarian experts – will allow pragmatic actions based on humanitarian principles to save lives, and will restore minimal human dignity to the affected residents of Gaza.
Even if this is just a "band-aid" until long-term solutions for rehabilitation and development arrive, the humanitarian phase can at least prevent a further deterioration of the crisis in Gaza, which in turn will extend the damage to Israel's image, its international standing, and even the health of its citizens. Such aid can also serve to identify entry points leading to post-war reconstruction.
Note: This article was originally published in Hebrew on 14 August 2024, in cooperation with the Israeli Society for International Development (SID Israel)
Osnat Lubrani served in the UN for 26 years in senior positions, including Coordinator for Development and Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine and Kosovo, Fiji, and nine other island nations, and held several senior positions in the organization's women's agency. She continues to advise the UN and other bodies on humanitarian aid-related issues, as well as gender, women, and peace and security, and is a member of Diplomats Without Borders and MENA2050.
(Photo: courtesy of the author)
Endnotes:
* The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
[1] Les Roberts, “The Science Is Clear. Over 30,000 People Have Died in Gaza,” TIME, 15 March 2024. https://time.com/6909636/gaza-death-toll/
[2] “Children in Gaza Need Life-Saving Support,” UNICEF, n.d. https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/children-gaza-need-lifesaving-support#:~:text=More%20than%2014%2C000%20children%20have
[3] Rachel Treisman, “Sen. Bernie Sanders Says Aid to Israel Should Be Conditional, Citing the Toll on Gaza,” NPR, 7 December 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/12/07/1217758587/bernie-sanders-israel-aid-conditional; “Biden Says Israel’s Response in Gaza Is ‘over the Top,’” Voice of America, 8 February 2024. https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-says-israel-s-response-in-gaza-is-over-the-top-/7480608.html; Bassam Masoud, Nidal Al-Mughrabi, and Nidal Al-Mughrabi, “Israel Sharply Ramps up Gaza Strikes, U.S. Alarmed,” Reuters, 8 December 2023. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-criticizes-israel-gaza-civilian-toll-un-hear-ceasefire-demand-2023-12-08/
[4] The State to the Supreme Court: There are Faults in the Delivery of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Working to Fix Them,” Haaretz, 15 April 2024 (Hebrew). https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/law/2024-04-15/ty-article/0000018e-e1e4-d371-afce-e9ecc51f0000
[5] “Amid Deteriorating Situation in Gaza, Senior Humanitarian Coordinator, Briefing Security Council, Stresses Need for Ceasefire, Unimpeded Delivery of Aid,” SC/15757, Meetings and Press Releases, 2 July 2024. https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15757.doc.htm
[6] New York Times, “The Warehouses are Full and the Trucks are Waiting, So Why Isn’t More Aid Reaching Gaza?” Haaretz, 28 March 2024 (Hebrew). https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/2024-03-28/ty-article-magazine/.premium/0000018e-7f5d-d9f5-a7ae-7f5d1e8f0000
[7] Avigdor Lieberman, “Don’t Be Naïve: There are no Innocent Civilians in Gaza,” Walla!, 3 December 2023 (Hebrew). https://news.walla.co.il/item/3626347
[8] Amitai Gazit, “The Intelligence Minister’s Proposal: Transferring Gaza’s Residents to the Sinai,” Calcalist, 24 October 2023 (Hebrew). https://www.calcalist.co.il/local_news/article/rj2mplngp
[9] “Yesh Atid MK: Annex Parts of the Gaza Strip,” Srugim, 19 December 2023 (Hebrew). (link)
[10] Barak Ravid, “Despite U.S. Requests, Israel Reduces Aid Allowed into Gaza after Ceasefire Collapses,” Axios, 1 December 2023. https://www.axios.com/2023/12/01/gaza-aid-hamas-israel-limit-ceasefire-collapse
[11] “Israel Denies Visas to UN Staff as It Hits Back against Gaza War Criticism.” Al Jazeera, 25 December 2023. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/25/israel-denies-visas-to-un-staff-as-it-hits-back-against-gaza-war-criticism
[12] Loveday Morris, “Far-right Israeli settlers step up attacks on aid trucks bound for Gaza,” The Washington Post, 26 May 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/26/west-bank-aid-trucks-gaza-settlers/
[13] “Israel Draws International Outrage after Airstrikes Kills 7 Aid Workers,” PBS News Hour, 5 April 2024. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/israel-draws-international-outrage-after-airstrikes-kills-7-aid-workers
[14] Nir Dvori and Guy Peleg, “A Covert Investigation led to the arrests in Sdeh Teiman on the suspicion of abuse of the terrorist,” N12, 29 July 2024 (Hebrew). https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/2024_q3/Article-1af85b7907ff091027.htm
[15] Dichter: “This is the 2023 Nakba,” YNET, 11 November 2023 (Hebrew). https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hkndbp67t; “MK Simcha Rotman: ‘We are all United in Destroying Hamas’,” Now14, 12 October 2023 (Hebrew). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLp4L8NUHE8&t=284s; “Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu: ‘An Atom Bomb on Gaza is an Option, They Can’t Fire me,” Arutz 7, 14 November 2023 (Hebrew). https://www.inn.co.il/news/620033
[16] Carmel Dangor, “Due to US Pressure: Humanitarian Aid to Gaza to Be Significantly Increased,” KAN11, 11 April 2024 (Hebrew). https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/newstv/p-591147/s2/736796/
[17] “What Does the Law Say about the Responsibilities of the Occupying Power in the Occupied Palestinian Territory?” ICRC, 26 July 2024. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/ihl-occupying-power-responsibilities-occupied-palestinian-territories
[18] “What Are the Obligations of Israel and Hamas to Protect Civilians?” The Economist, 24 April 2024. https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2024/04/24/what-are-the-obligations-of-israel-and-hamas-to-protect-civilians
[19] Meital Yasoor Beit-Orr, “Polio in Gaza: IDF Begins Inoculation Operation for Thousands of Soldiers,” Israel Hayom, 21 July 2024 (Hebrew). https://www.israelhayom.co.il/health/article/16115415
[20] “Leading NGOs Slam Israel’s Halt in Visa Renewals for Aid Workers in Gaza and West Bank,” AP News , 7 March 2024. https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-war-hamas-humanitarian-visas-5d306d367e6522495a4ee8045859a3b8; Samuel Forey and Clothilde Mraffko, “Israel Denies Visas to Aid Workers in Gaza,” Le Monde, 15 March 2024. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/03/15/israel-denies-visas-to-aid-workers-in-gaza_6622932_4.html
[21] Mehul Srivastava, Neri Zilber and Heba Saleh, “Looting all but halts Gaza aid deliveries as law and order nears collapse,” Financial Times, 21 February 2024. https://www.ft.com/content/9c7253aa-d201-487a-bf5c-901b142eb7e4
[22] Kat Lonsdorf and Anas Baba, “Looting in Gaza Has Led to Skyrocketing Food Prices,” NPR, 26 June 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/06/26/nx-s1-5020127/looting-in-gaza-has-led-to-skyrocketing-food-prices
[23] “Record Numbers of People Need Humanitarian Assistance,” United Nations: Information Service Vienna, n.d. https://unis.unvienna.org/unis/en/topics/related/2023/humanitarian-need.html#:~:text=One%20in%2022%20people%20around
[24] “Global Humanitarian Overview 2024: UN Launches $46 Billion Appeal for 2024 as Global Humanitarian Outlook Remains Bleak,” ReliefWeb, 11 December 2023. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-humanitarian-overview-2024-un-launches-46-billion-appeal-2024-global-humanitarian-outlook-remains-bleak-enar
[25] “The Politics of Information and Analysis in Famines and Extreme Emergencies: Synthesis of Findings from Six Case Studies,” ReliefWeb, 18 May 2020. https://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/politics-information-and-analysis-famines-and-extreme-emergencies-synthesis-findings
[26] UNRWA. 2024. “Frequently Asked Questions,” UNRWA, 2024. https://www.unrwa.org/who-we-are/frequently-asked-questions
[27] “The Real Problem with the UN’s Agency for Palestinians,” The Economist, 15 February 2024. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/02/15/the-real-problem-with-the-uns-agency-for-palestinians
[28] “UNRWA textbooks still include hate, antisemitism despite pledge to remove — watchdog”, Times of Israel, 7 July 2022. https://www.timesofisrael.com/unrwa-textbooks-still-include-hate-antisemitism-despite-pledge-to-remove-watchdog/
[29] “UNRWA Reviews and Responds to Allegations Concerning Agency Educational Materials,” UNRWA, 15 July 2022. https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-reviews-and-responds-allegations-concerning-agency-educational
[30] Dylan Martinez, “Hamas had command tunnel under UN Gaza HQ, Israel says,” Reuters, 11 February 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-had-command-tunnel-under-un-gaza-hq-israeli-military-says-2024-02-10/
[31] Emanuel Fabian, “Israel reveals 12 UNRWA staffers it says took part in Oct. 7, says 30 more assisted,” Times of Israel, 16 February 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-reveals-12-unrwa-staffers-it-says-took-part-in-oct-7-says-30-more-assisted/
[32] Daniel Adelson, “’Women Empowerment and Supervising School curriculums’: UNRWA Report Recommendations,” YNET, 22 April 2024 (Hebrew). https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/hjawi11v110
[33] Arab News, “US Must Restore Funding to UN Aid Agency for Palestinians, Rights Body Warns,” Arab News, 19 July 2024. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2552536/middle-east
[34] Reuters and TOI Staff, “UN ends check into one UNRWA worker, suspends 4 more probes, says evidence lacking,” Times of Israel, 27 April 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-closes-probe-into-one-unrwa-worker-and-suspends-4-more-says-evidence-lacking/
[35] David Brunnstrom, “Nine UNRWA staff members were possibly involved in attack on Israel, UN says,” Reuters, 5 August 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/nine-unrwa-staff-may-have-been-involved-oct-7-attack-israel-says-un-2024-08-05/
[36] Einav Levy, “Humanitarian Strategy in the Israel-Hamas War,” jointly published by Mitvim Institute and SID-Israel, July 2024. (link)
[37] Kenneth M. Pollack, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Failure in Iraq: A Retrospective Analysis of the Reconstruction,” Commentary, Brookings, 1 December 2006. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-failure-in-iraq-a-retrospective-analysis-of-the-reconstruction/
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