Chaos in Gaza: Israel's Failure to Plan for Power Transition Exacerbates Crisis

The crisis in Gaza has continued to escalate, with Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinians near aid sites and U.N. convoys, highlighting the dire need for a power transition plan. For over a year and a half, experts have warned that Israel's failure to plan for a postwar power structure would lead to chaos, hinder aid delivery, and stymie efforts to defeat Hamas. The recent incidents of shooting civilians near aid sites and U.N. convoys are a grim illustration of these predictions.

Key Takeaways:

• Israel's refusal to allow new governance structures to emerge in Gaza has led to a power vacuum, exacerbating chaos and disorder in the territory.
• Despite warnings from experts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly declined to create a system of transitional governance, including the return of the Palestinian Authority.
• Israel's aid blockade between March and May led to widespread food shortages, and the subsequent restoration of food deliveries created a new kind of chaos, with Israelis distributing food from limited locations, forcing Palestinians to travel miles to access aid.
• Israeli soldiers have regularly used live fire to contain unrest instead of nonlethal forms of crowd control, resulting in the deaths of Palestinians attempting to access aid supplies.
• Critics argue that Israel's actions are not only a byproduct of bad planning but may also be intentional, with some questioning whether the Israeli government wants to maintain control over Gaza.
• On Monday, 25 countries, including Britain, France, and Japan, condemned Israel's conduct as "unacceptable" and demanded an immediate end to the war.
• Experts warn that the failure to plan for postwar Gaza risks filling the power vacuum with looters, gangs, or a reconstituted Hamas, making it harder to defeat the militant group.

Statistics:

• Over 25 countries, including Britain, France, and Japan, have condemned Israel's conduct in Gaza.
• 22 months have passed since the onset of the war in Gaza.
• Israel's aid blockade between March and May led to widespread food shortages.
• Israeli soldiers have used live fire to contain unrest, resulting in Palestinian deaths attempting to access aid supplies.
• The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new American-led group, has taken over food distribution from U.N.-led sites, distributing food from just a handful of locations.

Sources:

• "A1, A9" for _The New York Times_ article of article publication date (no date provided in source).
• Reporting by Bilal Shbair, Myra Noveck, Gabby Sobelman, and Johnatan Reiss, from source material.
• Article mentions Shira Efron, an expert on aid systems in Gaza at the Israel Policy Forum, a research group in New York.
• Quote from Ehud Olmert, a former prime minister of Israel, who has become increasingly critical of the country's conduct in the war.