ANKARA

Israel’s Security Cabinet approved Sunday night an aid delivery plan for the Palestinians in war-torn Gaza through private US security contractors based on handing over aid boxes to individuals, Israeli and US media reported on Monday.

The Times of Israel, citing officials, said the approved plan keeps the Israeli army away from the aid box delivery to individuals in Gaza while providing an outer layer of security for private US contractors and international organizations handing out the aid boxes.

The new plan, which has no official date for implementation, was approved by all Cabinet members except hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The Washington Post also reported that the plan would involve American security contractors and would be put into motion before the end of the month, possibly as soon as President Donald Trump’s visit to the region in mid-May.

The Israeli plan, however, has been rejected by the UN and dozens of international aid groups, saying it runs against humanitarian principles, is logistically unworkable, and could put Palestinian civilians and staffers in harm’s way.

The UN Humanitarian Country Team in Gaza said on Sunday night that it "can only support plans that respect the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, independence, and impartiality."

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas also decried the Israeli plan for aid distribution as "political blackmail" and "a violation of international law."

In a statement, Hamas hailed the UN rejection of the Israeli plan and called on the international community "not to be deceived by the (Israeli) occupation’s false narratives."

Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s crossings, blocking essential supplies from entering the enclave despite multiple reports of famine in the war-devastated territory.

Last week, the director of Gaza’s government media office, Ismail Thawabteh​​​​​​, told Anadolu that the enclave had entered “an advanced stage of famine” due to the continued closure of border crossings and Israel’s renewed military onslaught.

Over 52,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.