Gaza aid Gantz among ministers reportedly seeking cuts to vital supply

Ministers in Israel's war cabinet are reportedly considering limiting the amount of aid reaching Gaza, as rightwing protesters disrupt the entry of trucks carrying desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the besieged Palestinian territory.

- Bethan McKernan & Quique Kierszenbaum

Benny Gantz, the centrist retired army general who joined the emergency wartime government formed by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after the 7 October attacks, and Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israeli army, have suggested temporarily limiting aid to weaken Hamas, Israel's Channel 12 reported late on Wednesday.

The two National Unity party politicians put the proposal forward in meetings this week, the station said, after receiving a report from Israel's internal security service that estimated up to 66% of aid entering Gaza was being hijacked by Hamas. That figure cannot be independently verified, but reports of desperate people or armed men seizing aid deliveries have become common in the strip.

"We can consider reducing the scope of supplies as part of the pressure to build a different mechanism in the Gaza Strip and as part of the efforts to free the hostages," the politicians reportedly said.

No final decision has been made on the issue, Channel 12 said.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.