A new humanitarian aid program for the Gaza Strip, aimed at distributing food through foreign private companies instead of international aid agencies, was developed by Israeli actors, according to a report in The New York Times. The initiative, presented as independent and neutral, is intended to replace the UN aid framework and prevent food from reaching Hamas.
“Mikveh Yisrael Forum”
The plan was conceived in the months following the October 7 attack by an informal group of Israeli military reservists, government officials, and businesspeople operating under the name Mikveh Yisrael Forum.
Among the group’s members are Yotam Cohen—a strategic advisor who joined the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and son of Major General Gershon Hacohen; Liran Tancman—a tech entrepreneur with wide-ranging connections who also joined COGAT; and Michael Eisenberg—a leading Israeli venture capital investor.
The model was developed in collaboration with American contractors, including former CIA officer Philip Reilly and a nonprofit called the Gaza Humanitarian Relief Foundation, founded by former U.S. Marine Jake Wood.
“Pull the Rug Out From Under Hamas”
According to the plan, food distribution sites will first be established in southern Gaza, in areas under IDF control, with private security companies guarding the facilities. Additional centers may open in the north, though UN officials have warned that this could displace civilians from other regions and put them at risk.
While U.S. statements have framed the project as an independent effort, the report characterizes it as a distinctly Israeli initiative, designed to create an alternative distribution mechanism free from UN or Hamas involvement.
“Israel must begin directly managing the distribution of aid—not just temporarily dismantle Hamas governance, but pull the rug out from under it,” wrote Yotam Cohen in a recent internal military memo.
The report also states that a Western European country has pledged over $100 million to support the initiative, including funding for 1,000 armed security personnel.
