There is no way to prevent Hamas from helping itself with aid sent to Gaza, according to two of Israel’s top former security officials.
Their assessment, based on years of efforts to rein in the terrorist group, undermines a key condition of an aid deal brokered by President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
He ended his seven-hour visit to Israel by saying he had reached an agreement with Israel and Egypt to allow humanitarian supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory.
But he said the aid would be stopped if any of it was diverted or stolen by Hamas, the group that controls the small enclave, collects taxes and provides services such as schools and hospitals.
“I know Hamas very well because I spent five years of my life dealing with them,” said Ido Gabay, former chief of staff to the national security adviser in the Israeli prime minister’s office.
“There’s zero chance you’ll get 100 percent of this help to those who need it.
Aid for the Gaza Strip is unloaded Thursday from an Emirati cargo plane onto the tarmac of Egypt’s el-Arish airport in the north of the Sinai Peninsula. Thousands of tons of food, water and medicine are stuck on the Egyptian side of the border
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he had struck a deal with Israel and Egypt to allow humanitarian aid supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory — as long as none went to Hamas.
“The economy and the rule of law in the Gaza Strip has Hamas’ DNA built into it, which means that anything that comes into the Gaza Strip, even if it’s a bottle of water, or a Sony PlayStation or BMW, they know how to profit from it.”
Ido Gabay, former chief of staff to the National Security Advisor in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office
Jacob Nagel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, said there are ways to solve the problem.
‘Ask me if I can guarantee that nothing will go to Hamas? “I can’t do that,” he said.
“But the solution is simple… it will be bombed.”
Israel has continued a steady bombardment of Gaza since thousands of Hamas gunmen dispersed from the coastal enclave, killing at least 1,400 people on October 7.
It is gathering troops for an expected ground invasion and has effectively laid siege to the area.
Biden arrived with a mission to both provide solidarity with Israel and ease an acute humanitarian crisis.
Just before leaving, he said Israel had agreed to allow aid to Gaza from Egypt. It will be accompanied by inspections and safeguards to prevent it from falling into the hands of terrorists.
He added: “Let me be clear: if Hamas diverts or steals aid, they will have once again demonstrated that they are not concerned about the well-being of the Palestinian people and it will come to an end.
“In practice, it will deter the international community from providing this assistance.”
The Israeli army has ordered civilians to leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Egypt closed its border crossing after the Hamas attack on Israel, leaving civilians stranded and hundreds of trucks carrying aid waiting at the border
Bodycam footage recovered from the bodies of Hamas fighters shows their infiltration into Israel. Former security officials fear the aid will fall into the hands of Hamas
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid from Egyptian charities for Palestinians await the reopening of the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian side of the border
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told Al Arabiya TV that the deliveries would be supervised by the United Nations.
But Israel has a long memory of aid falling into the wrong hands.
It accused Hamas of using cement intended to rebuild bombed houses and building a network of tunnels and bunkers to protect fighters and smuggle contraband.
And just this week, a UN agency said trucks belonging to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry removed fuel and medical equipment from one of its facilities in Gaza.
“On the night of Friday, October 13, our staff was forced to evacuate UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City with a few hours’ notice,” the report said. “Since then, UNRWA has had no further access to the compound and no additional details regarding the disposal of the assets.”
It later deleted social media posts about the incident, claiming it was “a movement of basic medical supplies from the UNRWA warehouse to health partners.”
Gabay said it was a classic example of one of two Hamas tactics.
“They demand it, or they take a value-added tax that goes directly to their pockets, not to the pockets of the government, to the Palestinian Authority, but to their pockets, so to the pockets of the organization for the military efforts,” he said.
Smoke rises after an airstrike on Gaza. Israel has continued heavy bombardment of the territory
Palestinian emergency services and local civilians search for victims in buildings destroyed during Israeli airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip
He added that the aid deal was a political deal, a concrete victory for Biden and aimed at allaying Arab concerns over the Gaza crisis.
Aryeh Lightstone, a former adviser to Donald Trump’s ambassador to Israel, said Biden has prioritized politics and appeasing critics at home over security.
“It’s impossible,” he said of blocking aid to Hamas.
“It is foolhardy and a foolhardy policy that focuses on politics rather than the safety of our American hostages and Israeli hospitals.”
For his part, Nagel said Israel was prepared to agree to the plan before Biden arrived. Providing aid was a useful tool at a time when the country’s armed forces were telling civilians to leave the northern end of the Gaza Strip before the next phase of their operation.
“It serves one of our purposes, the purpose of moving the population from north to south,” he said.
‘We can say to them: look, if you exercise, you get water, some food. If you stay, you will starve: pray to Hamas.”
The arrangement has also angered the families of hostages held by Hamas. They said any aid delivery should be tied to the release of their family members.