While international headlines warn of an impending famine in Gaza, Israeli security officials pushed back last night, calling the situation “difficult but not catastrophic.” In a high-level briefing, the military said that despite strained medical and food infrastructure, there is currently no famine.
“We are not close to that threshold,” a senior IDF official said. “There is suffering, yes—but also an expanding effort to provide relief.”
110 Looting Incidents—No Hamas Involvement
The IDF identified 110 looting events in Gaza in recent weeks. Contrary to some assumptions, lootings were not carried out by Hamas, according to military intelligence, but by desperate civilians, armed clans, and local gangs.
Officials believe this breakdown of law and order also presents an opportunity to undermine Hamas’s control over daily life.
Aid Centers to Serve 1.2 Million Gazans
The Israeli military is preparing to launch four centralized humanitarian distribution hubs this week. Three will open in Rafah, and one in central Gaza. Each center will serve up to 11,000 civilians per day, distributing aid kits designed to feed an entire family for five days.
Screening protocols will be in place. Aid will be distributed by private American contractors, while the IDF remains in a non-frontline, support role.
Population Breakdown Across Gaza
The IDF released updated data on population dispersal in the Strip:
- Khan Younis & Al-Mawasi: ~850,000
- Nuseirat & central camps: ~350,000
- Gaza City: ~900,000
- Northern Gaza: ~110,000 (with many refusing to evacuate)
Northern residents’ reluctance to leave has complicated military operations.
Strategic Goal: Break Hamas’s Grip on Aid
The military and its partners are implementing a new model of aid distribution, designed to bypass Hamas entirely. The aim is to strip the group of its monopoly over food and basic supplies.
“If Hamas interferes with this system, it could spark internal backlash,” a defense official warned. The initiative—backed by the United States—could serve as a litmus test for “post-Hamas governance models” and reduce the militant group’s stranglehold on humanitarian resources.
IDF: Our War is Against Hamas
The IDF stated: “Since the war began, we’ve facilitated the entry of over 1.7 million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Our war is against Hamas, not the people of Gaza”.
Since the war began, we’ve facilitated the entry of over 1.7 million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Our war is against Hamas, not the people of Gaza. @cogatonline pic.twitter.com/9qWFuMyY5P
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) May 25, 2025
