Trucks carrying aid move, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri

The Hamas-run Ministry of Interior in Gaza has urged civilians to reject incoming humanitarian aid deliveries from an organization backed by the US and Israel, calling the plan to distribute aid and circumvent Hamas “unacceptable” and threatening those who accept it.

“The expected Israeli mechanism for distributing aid in Gaza is completely unacceptable, and we call on our people not to cooperate with it, as the occupation will use the aid distribution as a security and intelligence operation under the cover of the Israeli-funded ‘Gaza foundation,’ the ministry posted on X/Twitter on Monday.

The Hamas-controlled ministry added that it would “secure and protect aid trucks” that enter the Gaza Strip and that it would “not allow the creation of bodies collaborating” with Israel. It then seemingly threatened civilians who accept the aid and work alongside Israel, posting that “anyone who cooperates with the occupation in imposing its agenda will pay the price, and we will take the necessary measures against them.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Interior in Gaza is a central organ of the Hamas-run government, overseeing internal security, police forces, civil defense, and the administration of civil affairs. The ministry also functions as a tool of political enforcement, maintaining tight control over public life and suppressing dissent. Additionally, human rights groups have documented its involvement in arbitrary arrests, surveillance, and political intimidation, making it a symbol of Hamas’s broader grip on the enclave’s civilian population.

Israel has unveiled a new proposal to lead a private aid initiative in Gaza aimed at bypassing Hamas control over humanitarian assistance. The plan, backed by the US-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), seeks to establish four centralized distribution hubs in southern Gaza, each serving approximately 300,000 people. These hubs would be secured by private contractors and located near Israeli military positions, with aid transported via armored vehicles from the Kerem Shalom crossing .

However, the GHF’s proposal also faces internal challenges. Jake Wood, the organization’s executive director, resigned shortly after his appointment, citing conflicts with core humanitarian principles and the inability to operate independently under the current plan. Despite these setbacks, Israel maintains that the initiative is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid and to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need.

Additionally, Israel is facing mounting international criticism for its refusal to collaborate with the United Nations in distributing humanitarian aid to Gaza. The UN and numerous aid organizations have condemned Israel’s new plan, arguing that the plan contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles, such as impartiality and neutrality and could exacerbate displacement within the beleaguered enclave.

Experts and Israeli officials have long said that Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist organization that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, steals much of the aid to fuel its terrorist operations and sells some of the remainder to Gaza’s civilian population at an increased price. Jerusalem has also said that aid distribution cannot be left to international organizations, which it accuses of allowing Hamas to seize supplies intended for the civilian population.

Israel argues that the Hamas terrorist group has both infiltrated humanitarian organizations, including the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants (UNRWA), in the Gaza Strip and hijacked aid trucks entering the enclave.

Beyond the Israeli government, research organizations and media outlets have publicized findings showing numerous UNRWA-employed staff, including teachers and school principals, are active Hamas members, some of whom were directly involved in the Palestinian terrorist group’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, while many others openly celebrated it.

Israel has discovered that Hamas used UNRWA facilities in Gaza, including its schools, to run operations and attacks against Israel and to store weapons, both in and under UNRWA institutions. The Israeli military claims that in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Hamas terrorists were found in UNRWA’s central logistics compound alongside UN vehicles. A group of 3,000 teachers working in Gaza for UNRWA even praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. UNRWA-operated schools in Gaza have also been accused of teaching children antisemitism and hatred of Israel. In June 2024, more than 100 Israeli victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks sued UNWRA, alleging that the agency “knowingly provided material support to Hamas in Gaza.”