UN proposal to speed up aid to Gaza focuses on inspecting shipments

A proposed new UN mechanism for speeding up the delivery of aid to Gaza suggests a new layer of screening and tracking of shipments and the opening of a new inspection facility at Rafah.

The $61.2m scheme, required by a UN security council resolution in December, does not propose opening any new crossing points from Israel into Gaza, nor does it address the issue of security, two of the biggest issues limiting delivery, at a time of deepening famine.

The UN children’s aid agency, Unicef, reported on Saturday that acute malnutrition among babies in northern Gaza had doubled in February and that now 31%, one in three children under two years old, now suffers from acute malnutrition, in what the agency called a staggering escalation from 15.6% in January.

The UN proposal, which has been obtained by the Guardian, focuses on streamlining the current inspection process overseen by Israel, referred to in the document as the “relevant state authority”, and providing means of tracking shipments as they move inside Gaza.

A covering letter accompanying the proposal on Friday is signed by Sigrid Kaag, a former Dutch minister appointed as UN aid coordinator for Gaza in December who will run the mechanism, and Jorge Moreira da Silva, the head of the UN Office for Project Services, which will be responsible for establishing a single database for all aid shipments under the scheme.

The letter says the mechanism would “serve as a one-stop process for facilitation of humanitarian and relief consignments to Gaza through all entry points, with its key functions in Gaza”.

A few countries have airdropped food into northern Gaza, where the threat of starvation is most severe, a small sea shipment organised by a charity has arrived from Cyprus and the US has announced plans to build a floating dock to unload larger amounts of aid arriving by sea. But aid organisations say such deliveries cannot substitute the mass shipments of assistance necessary to save Gaza’s 2.3 million population, which would be possible if Israel opened more crossings, especially in the north, to a sustained large-scale flow of aid.

“The speed at which this catastrophic child malnutrition crisis in Gaza has unfolded is shocking, especially when desperately needed assistance has been at the ready just a few miles away,” Catherine Russell, Unicef’s executive director, said. “We have repeatedly attempted to deliver additional aid and we have repeatedly called for the access challenges we have faced for months to be addressed. Instead, the situation for children is getting worse by each passing day. Our efforts in providing life-saving aid are being hampered by unnecessary restrictions, and those are costing children their lives.”

The proposed UN mechanism, which is subject to change from by UN member states, makes clear that Israel will retain control of what enters Gaza, stipulating that “clearance of humanitarian assistance will be required for all the consignments as the first step in the mechanism’s supply chain and will enable the initial verification of humanitarian nature”.

“Consignments that do not go through this system will not be able to proceed to the next point in the process,” it adds.

Israeli inspections have been a major hindrance to the flow of aid since the Gaza war began in October. Whole shipments have been routinely rejected if they contain a single item deemed a security risk, a definition that aid agencies and diplomats say is based on arbitrary criteria.

The Refugees International aid advocacy organisation has reported that water purification tablets, nail clippers, insulin pens, tent poles, green-coloured sleeping bags, water filters and ventilators have all been banned.

The proposed UN mechanism includes an advance “desk review” of consignments, presumably with the aim of getting clarity from the Israelis on what is allowed before trucks reach the Gaza crossing points.

“Based on desk review, the mechanism will issue clearance, in coordination with the relevant state authority (as needed), to proceed to the next phase,” the UN document suggests. The mechanism would track shipments as they moved through Gaza, guaranteeing they reached their intended recipients, a central concern cited by Israel. Like the current system, the delivery of aid would remain dependent on Israeli cooperation.

The most significant change proposed is the establishment of a new “inspection arrangement” inside Gaza for goods entering at the Rafah crossing. Currently, shipments have to be inspected at another crossing Keren Shalom or at Nitzana on the Israeli-Egyptian border before being driven back to Rafah.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has insisted his forces will press ahead with an offensive on Rafah, in defiance of US appeals to hold back. The UN mechanism does not mention the issue of security, which has become increasingly important as desperate crowds as well as criminal gangs have looted aid convoys.

Aid officials expressed concern that the proposed UN mechanism will do very little to improve the catastrophic conditions in Gaza created by the Israeli military siege.