A Humanitarian Plan for Gaza

Key Findings:

It will not be possible to fully alleviate the dire conditions in Gaza for the duration of the war. Nonetheless, Israel, the United States, and the international community can and should do more today to lessen Palestinians’ suffering and plan for Gaza’s eventual recovery and reconstruction.

Coordination

-Enhance coordination between aid agencies, Israel, the PA, and Egypt

-Elevate the quad coordination forum of Israel, Egypt, the U.N., and the U.S. to address strategic issues and plan further in advance

-Facilitate deconfliction between humanitarian actors and IDF’s Southern Command, with COGAT’s participation

-Seek rapprochement between Israel and the U.N. at all levels

-Work behind the scenes to clarify the division of labor between the senior U.N. humanitarian officials 

-Work with U.N. and international partners to substantively reform UNRWA and rely on alternatives when possible

Palestinian Authority Involvement

-Establish aid facilities in the West Bank (food production, tent and temporary shelter factories)

-Create a route for humanitarian aid from the West Bank into Gaza, similar to the Jordanian route

-Pilot use of PA border and customs police in managing crossings (including in northern Gaza and the forthcoming floating pier) 

-Involve the PA’s Civil Defense in a UNMAS or NATO campaign to clear debris and unexploded explosive ordnances (UXOs)

-Ramp up support to the USSC to build and train an interim security force for Gaza

-Integrate the PA into water testing campaigns, vaccination efforts, and blood drives

-Build on the GRM rationale to develop an efficient monitoring system for complex goods in preparation for reconstruction

-Create a roadmap for PA reform that includes specific benchmarks, synchronized with steps by Israel to strengthen the PA

Funding

-Work with the U.N. to streamline the OCHA appeal to make it more accessible

-Encourage Arab states to shift from in-kind donations to assistance within OCHA appeal

-Shift from in-kind donations to a market-based approach to humanitarian assistance 

-Collaborate with the U.N., the PA, and Arab partners to plan a day-after conference focused on humanitarian issues

Increasing the Flow of Aid

In its coordination with Israel and the U.N., the U.S. should prioritize the following:

-Flood Gaza with food and other essential humanitarian supplies to lower risk of looting

-Ensure a minimum of daily entry of 150 trucks of food into Gaza

-Push for Kerem Shalom to operate at full capacity, including weekends and holidays 

-Enable return of Gazan civilians to the north by reopening the water pipeline, resuming operations at the Ashdod port, and opening another significant crossing for aid to northern Gaza with inspection capacity

-Pre-position inspected aid for smoother entry into Gaza at various crossings 

-Address opaque operation at el-Arish and Rafah and install a mechanism for prioritizing aid entering from Egypt according to need, as well as tracking and monitoring 

-Ensure sufficient fuel for Gaza’s critical infrastructure, including the power plant

-Facilitate importation of medical supplies, reopening hospitals, and medical evacuations

-Provide sufficient emergency shelter materials to Gazans and develop community-based temporary housing options that offer proper protection

-Develop a plan for a three-way crossing at the border triangle Israel-Egypt-Gaza (gate #38) to facilitate Israeli-Egyptian partnership on goods entering Gaza