Israeli military pushes to reduce Gaza aid flow

GAZA CITY

Israeli military sources recommended that the government should sharply reduce the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza, proposing a cut from 600 to roughly 200 per day under Phase 2 of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan, the Israeli media reported on Jan. 29.

Under the first phase of the Gaza plan introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump and implemented in October 2025, Israel agreed to allow up to 600 aid trucks per day into the enclave.

However, that target was rarely met for an extended period, prompting repeated calls from humanitarian organizations to increase aid deliveries into the strip.

Despite these appeals, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) advised the government to lower the daily quota to 200 trucks, arguing that the conditions and objectives of Phase 2 should differ from those of the initial stage.

According to the IDF, Israel’s acceptance of the 600-truck quota during the first stage was driven partly by efforts to stabilize long-term food security and “partly to build goodwill with the Trump administration.”

Israeli security assessments now estimated that approximately 200 trucks per day would be sufficient to meet Gaza’s essential humanitarian needs.

Defense officials warn that surplus aid is unintentionally strengthening Hamas, asserting that “every additional truck creates an economic advantage for Hamas.”

In its report to the government, the IDF also confirmed that around 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the Israel-Hamas war, while rejecting the proportion of civilian casualties. The military stated that approximately 25,000 of the dead were Hamas fighters.

The IDF further asserted that no healthy individuals died from starvation throughout the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza.

This contradicted estimates by international organizations and some media outlets, which have suggested that up to 450 Palestinians died due to starvation.

The IDF dismissed those figures as either based on “fabricated data or including individuals who had serious pre-existing medical conditions prior to the war.”

Israel brought home the remains of the last hostage in Gaza on Jan. 26, closing a painful chapter for the country and clearing the way for the next and more challenging phase of its ceasefire with Hamas.