What is the principle of Humanitarian aid delivery?
In 2025, we often heard news about the delivery of Humanitarian aid in Gaza, especially the issues at distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Before looking at what happens there, let’s understand the rules of humanitarian aid delivery under international law.
1. Four principles
Principles of humanitarian aid delivery are as follows.
- Neutrality
- Humanity
- Impartiality
- Independence
It means that Humanitarian aid should be given IRRESPECTIVE of factors such as race, nationality, gender, religious beliefs, political opinions, or social class.
Also, it should NOT be controlled by political, economic, military, or other non-humanitarian objectives.
2. Civilian objects
Customary International Humanitarian Law states that all States must guarantee the protection of relief supplies, and that the parties to conflict must clearly distinguish between civilian objects and military objectives.
The definition of civilian objects is “all items that are not military objectives“.
All objects in humanitarian relief operations, including distribution sites, are principally civilian objects that must be protected (Rules 7 and 32).
If someone attacks it deliberately, it is considered a WAR CRIME under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (Article 8).
3. Duty of Occupying Power
The fourth Geneva Convention addresses the protection of civilians during wartime and in occupied territories.
Article 55: Occupying Power must ensure sufficient food and medical supplies for the population.
Article 59: Occupying Power shall agree to relief schemes undertaken by States or impartial humanitarian organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, if the population of an occupied territory is not sufficiently supplied.
Looking at the case of Gaza, in effect, it is currently under the control of Israel. It means that Israel is obligated to provide sufficient supplies to the Gaza residents. Furthermore, since there is a clear shortage of supplies, Israel is also obligated to accept impartial humanitarian aid organisations.
When we use the word “humanitarian aid”, we have to follow those principles.
How was the aid delivery by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was established in February 2025 and started its operation in May 2025, led by the Israeli government with the support of the US private security contractors.
1. Low capacity
Although the number of Palestinians in Gaza, who needed access to aid, was 2 million, GHF opened only 4 distribution sites, which were too few.
Also, the distribution sites were located only in the south and the central Gaza (3 in the southern Gaza and 1 in the central Gaza), but not in the north, which was unbalanced.
In addition to the limited number and the unbalanced location of distribution sites, the GHF’s capacity to deliver aid was very limited: 60 trucks of food per day, compared to 600 per day under the UN in early 2025.
2. Lack of a safety distribution mechanism
The GHF did not have a systematic safety distribution mechanism for aid seekers.
There was no registration or proper control, so some took multiple food boxes, and many others received nothing.
The entrance and exit were narrow and often congested. Instead of setting up regular crowd control, Israeli armoured vehicles were positioned at those points.
Only Facebook was used to announce the operation time and day, although many Palestinians in Gaza did not have internet connection.
The operation schedule was supposed to be posted daily basis; however, on several occasions, no announcements or wrong announcements of the opening time. And the duration of distribution was very short (median was 11 minutes).
Palestinians faced the difficulty of receiving aid due to the lack of proper information.
3. Death trap
The most horrifying fact of this aid delivery was that all distribution sites were located in the militarised zones, and aid seekers needed to walk along the Israeli military line.
Live gunfire, stun grenades, tear gas, and pepper spray were used for crowd control, and quadcopter drones were witnessed dropping stun grenades on the crowd.
Based on the testimony of the witnesses, the Israeli forces and US contractors routinely opened fire on aid seekers even though no “threat” was observed.
Until GHF ended its operation in November 2025, more than 2000 people were killed, and more than 4000 people were injured in the distribution sites and along the convoy route.
It is very painful to imagine that starving people walked for a long distance to seek food and were killed at the aid delivery point.
☞Continued in “Principles of Humanitarian aid delivery: the example of violation (2)”
References
– UNHCR. Humanitarian Principles. 14 March 2025. https://emergency.unhcr.org/protection/protection-principles/humanitarian-principles
– Customary International Humanitarian Law. Rule 7. The Principle of Distinction between Civilian Objects and Military Objectives. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule7
– Customary International Humanitarian Law. Rule 32. Humanitarian Relief Objects. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule32
– Médecins Sans Frontières. The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law. Civilian Objects. https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/protected-objects-and-property/#:~:text=Rule%209%20of%20the%20customary,that%20these%20measures%20are%20implemented.
– The fourth Geneva Convention. Article 55. Food and medical supplies for the population. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-55?activeTab=
– The fourth Geneva Convention. Article 59. Collective relief in occupied territory. https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gciv-1949/article-59?activeTab=
– Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 8 War crimes. https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf
-Pagkas-Bather J, Imam S, Bender Ignacio R, Farooq A, Shakhsheer B, Sidhwa F, Al-Heeti O, Ahmad T, Abughnaim T, Schneider J. The medical community must not remain silent about healthcare and water access denial in Palestine. Dialogues Health. 2025 Oct 15;7:100251. doi: 10.1016/j.dialog.2025.100251. PMID: 41158989; PMCID: PMC12554968.
– United Nations. General Assembly. Fifty-eighth session. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 17 December 2003. https://docs.un.org/en/a/res/58/114
– United Nations. The Question of Palestine. Killing of Civilians in Gaza Waiting in Line for Humanitarian Aid Must End, Relief Chief Tells Security Council, Urging Return to UN-Led Delivery Mechanism. 16 July 2025. https://www.un.org/unispal/document/security-council-press-release-16jul25/
– United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Press release. UN experts call for immediate dismantling of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. 5 August 2025. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/un-experts-call-immediate-dismantling-gaza-humanitarian-foundation
– Al Jazeera. US-backed GHF ‘aid mission’ in Gaza ends – a timeline of violence. 25 November 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/25/us-backed-ghf-aid-mission-in-gaza-ends-a-timeline-of-violence
– BBC. US-Israeli backed Gaza aid group must be shut down, say 170 charities. 2 July 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn5kk1w00xyo
– Human Rights Watch. Gaza: Israeli Killings of Palestinians Seeking Food Are War Crimes. 1 August 2025. https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/01/gaza-israeli-killings-of-palestinians-seeking-food-are-war-crimes
– MSF. Dozens of Palestinians massacred at US-Israel backed food distribution sites. 1 June 2025. https://www.msf.org/dozens-palestinians-massacred-us-israel-backed-food-distribution-sites
