Israel’s militarised aid system will turn life saving humanitarian aid into a tool of oppression and violence

6 May 2025

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) rejects Israel’s plan to dismantle the existing humanitarian system in Gaza and its replacement with an Israeli military-controlled apparatus.

Stephen Cutts, Interim CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians, said: “The international community must see this plan for what it plainly is: another tool of oppression and violence in the context of what international human rights groups have concluded is a campaign of genocide against Palestinians. It is the total inversion of humanitarianism that, if allowed to continue unchallenged, will have dire consequences not only for Gaza's population, but for humanitarian action over the world.”

Humanitarian aid must be guided by principles of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and humanity. Israel’s responsibilities as an occupying power under international law are clear: to ensure the welfare of the occupied population and to provide them with adequate supplies, and to allow and facilitate humanitarian relief to the occupied territory. These obligations cannot be manipulated to exert control over humanitarian response. This plan only entrenches Israel’s unlawful occupation and is yet another deliberate use of collective punishment. 

In October, the UK Prime Minister said the world “will not tolerate any more excuses on humanitarian assistance,” and in January, the UK made clear that “there must be no backsliding” on aid access to Gaza. With no meaningful action to accompany these statements, Israel has instead halted all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for 65 days.

The healthcare system is collapsing, without the necessary supplies to meet the needs of a population that has been systematically starved, bombarded and displaced. Israel’s proposed military-controlled aid mechanism is a dangerous attempt to weaponise humanitarian aid, entrench further control over Gaza, and continue its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

The failure of the international community, including the UK, to end the chronic impunity afforded to Israel for its ongoing atrocities, including systematic attacks on health infrastructure and personnel, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war, has brought us to the brink of institutionalising a humanitarian dystopia. The UK must not be an ally to these atrocities.

MAP therefore calls on States, including the UK, to:

• Publicly and unequivocally reject Israel’s militarisation of aid, and make clear support for humanitarian organisations who refuse to comply with  systems that violate international law. This must include tangible steps to protect the work of organisations at risk, through diplomatic and financial support;
• Exert meaningful diplomatic pressure on Israel to enforce an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to Israel’s unlawful occupation, including through ending all arms transfers to Israel;
• Pursue accountability through international legal mechanisms for Israel’s violations of international law.

Humanitarian actors, including donor states, must also make clear their opposition with this plan, and ensure that assistance is channelled through mechanisms that uphold Core Humanitarian Standards. 

Routing life-saving assistance through security militarised companies is not humanitarian coordination; it is coercion. The humanitarian sector must not be silenced or co-opted. Our work is grounded in dignity, humanity, and international law, and we will not deliver aid through a system designed to subjugate, displace, and oppress.