A crucial meeting convened yesterday (Monday) by Defense Minister Israel Katz with top IDF brass focused on overhauling humanitarian aid distribution methods in Gaza to circumvent Hamas control. The discussions centered on a controversial proposal to allow a US private security firm to manage civilian affairs and aid distribution in designated Gaza neighborhoods, with the IDF maintaining only peripheral security operations.
The high-level gathering included IDF Operations Chief Major General Oded Basyuk, Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate Head Major General Eliezer Toledano, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, and additional military officials. The senior command presented a comprehensive analysis of the plan's merits and potential pitfalls, highlighting several critical concerns.
In a particularly pointed intervention, Major General Toledano issued a stark warning, invoking the specter of a "Sabra and Shatila" scenario. He cautioned that any civilian casualties caused by the private company's operations in Gaza neighborhoods could be attributed to the IDF, given its presence in the area, potentially triggering international backlash.
The historical parallel references the aftermath of the First Lebanon War, when Christian forces, operating under IDF security perimeter, entered the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. While their stated mission targeted PLO fighters, the operation resulted in civilian casualties, leading to widespread international condemnation of Israel as the overseeing force.
Defense Minister Katz pushed back against these comparisons, emphasizing the fundamental difference between a professional American security company and the historical events involving Christian factions at Sabra and Shatila, dismissing any parallel between the two scenarios.
The concerns voiced by Toledano resonated with other participants, including the head of the International Law Department in the Military Advocate General's Corps, who shared similar reservations about introducing a US private security company into the humanitarian aid operation.
Earlier reporting revealed an additional legal complexity: if Israel finances the American company's civilian operations in Gaza neighborhoods, international law could view it as an extension of Israeli authority. To navigate this challenge, officials are exploring alternative funding through foreign nations or international aid organizations.
Member of the Security Cabinet, Minister of National Missions Orit Strock offered a stark assessment: "Each day that humanitarian aid continues to sustain Hamas represents another cycle of self-defeating actions that undermine our war objectives, endanger our soldiers, and compromise our hostages. This paradox cannot continue."
