Exclusive-US mulls Gaza aid plan that would replace controversial GHF aid operation

The United States is considering a proposal for humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza that would replace the controversial U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to a copy of the plan seen by Reuters.

It is one of several concepts being explored, said a U.S. official and a humanitarian official familiar with the plan, as Washington seeks to facilitate increased deliveries of assistance to the Palestinian enclave after two years of war.

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in place for 13 days. Under that deal some more aid is now entering Gaza, where a global hunger monitor warned in August that famine had taken hold.

The "operational backbone" of the proposal seen by Reuters would be a so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Belt" - 12-16 humanitarian hubs positioned along the line to which Israeli forces have withdrawn within Gaza. Those hubs would serve people on both sides of the line. 

The hubs would also include "voluntary reconciliation facilities" for militants to give up their weapons and receive amnesty, and forward operating bases for future forces with the planned international stabilization force to help demilitarize Gaza.

The proposal says the GHF would be "absorbed/replaced" by the UAE/Morocco Red Cross and Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical Christian aid organization. 

The proposal reflected a conceptual approach being explored by the U.S., said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. But the official said it was not the only concept for an aid operation and declined to speculate about the likelihood it would be implemented.

Asked for comment on the proposal, the U.S. military’s Central Command referred Reuters to its statement from Tuesday on the opening of the Civil-Military Coordination Center, which is charged with facilitating the flow of security and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A humanitarian official familiar with the proposal, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they understood "the sharing of that document was premature", and it does not currently reflect "actual decisions or policy." Instead the proposal was "more like a white paper" - an informative document that proposes an option on a particular issue, the official said. 

If a formal plan reflecting the ideas in the proposal was approved, it would represent "a warmed-over version of what GHF tried to do," said the humanitarian official.