Israel Plans to Seize Control of Gaza’s Aid. Here’s How That Could Look.

Israeli authorities are floating a new plan to allow desperately needed international aid into Gaza, under their control, after blocking the deliveries for more than two months.

But many of the humanitarian groups that would have to work under the proposed system say Israel’s conditions would turn aid into a military pressure tactic and violate the groups’ principles of neutrality.

The idea for the new aid mechanism surfaced just as Israeli leaders were threatening to significantly escalate their offensive in Gaza, even though more than a year and a half of war has failed to either defeat the territory’s Hamas rulers or bring home all of the hostages still held there.

Israel’s barring of food and medicine shipments into Gaza has prompted calls from the international community — including allies — to end the blockade.

But Israeli officials have dug in, arguing that they are pressing Hamas to free the remaining hostages. They have also repeatedly accused Hamas of diverting aid for its own fighters rather than allowing it to reach hungry Palestinian civilians, which Hamas denies.

What is Israel proposing?

The Israeli military said that its coming escalation would involve the displacement of most of Gaza’s population to zones “clean of Hamas,” which would be filtered by Israeli forces to weed out any members of the militant group.