A Legal Appraisal of Israel’s Purported Aid Delivery Scheme in Gaza
20 June 2025In May, Israel put in place a controversial new scheme regulating and de facto severely restricting the delivery of supplies into and within Gaza. In a new publication, the IHL Centre shows that the restrictive and coercive conditions imposed by Israel entail multiple violations of international law.
Elements of the scheme include severe limitations on the quantity and variety of supplies allowed into the Strip, the establishment of a handful of Israeli-designated distribution ‘hubs’, and the involvement of private armed contractors as well as the Israeli military.
Pursuant to this scheme, a significant part of the population has been excluded from access to relief, including those in situations of vulnerability and those located in northern Gaza, exacerbating conditions of starvation. Furthermore, hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed and thousands more injured around distribution sites, including by the Israeli military, and the conditions imposed by the scheme are likely to result in further displacement of the population.
This publication assesses whether the conditions imposed by Israel – and their effect in practice, as publicly reported – meet the requirements of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL), concluding that they entail several violations of Israel’s legal obligations.
- First, Israel continues to violate its obligation to itself meet the needs of the population in Gaza.
- Second, the restrictive and coercive conditions imposed since May 2025 on the passage of supplies Israel has consented to make it impossible to meet the needs of the population in Gaza in an impartial manner, resulting in a violation of Israel’s obligation to allow and facilitate humanitarian activities.
- Third, Israel has violated its obligation to consent to other offers from UN agencies and other impartial humanitarian organisations capable of satisfying this standard according to previous modalities of delivery.
- Fourth, the analysis shows that Israeli-imposed conditions are very likely to result or have already resulted in additional violations of international law, including – but not limited to – the use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare, forced displacement, and violations of the obligation to respect and protect civilians.
Cover photo: Aid distribution, Rafah, Gaza Strip, 29 May 2025. DoaA Albaz/ActiveStills Photo Collective. All Rights Reserved.