Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Sunday that Israel “fully endorses” what he characterized as a recently announced American plan for providing aid to the Gaza Strip.

“Israel fully endorses the Trump administration’s plan, presented on Friday by US Ambassador to Israel Mr. Mike Huckabee,” Sa’ar said at a joint press conference with Germany’s new foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, in Jerusalem.

Over the weekend, ahead of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to the Middle East this week, Washington’s envoy to Israel said that a US-backed mechanism for distributing aid to Gaza should take effect soon, without giving many details.

“Humanitarian aid will be facilitated by a private fund — based on the principles laid out by the US administration. It will enable aid to go directly to the people. Hamas must not be allowed to get their hands on it,” Sa’ar continued.

“During the war, Israel allowed humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and facilitated it. But Hamas stole that aid from the people and earned its money from it… Therefore, we will stop making these efforts in a manner that Hamas could use because it undermines Israel’s objectives in this just war,” explained Sa’ar.

“IDF soldiers will not allocate aid — they will secure the perimeter. This plan allows for aid to flow based on international humanitarian law and its principles, which we are committed to,” said the foreign minister, adding that Israel “would like to cooperate with as many countries and NGOs as possible on the matter.”

Officials familiar with the aid mechanism have told The Times of Israel that the Israeli government and military have been heavily involved in putting together its details, even if a new international organization — the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — will be the one managing the initiative and the Israel Defense Forces won’t be the one to distribute the aid.

In response to Sa’ar’s words, Wadephul told his counterpart that he welcomed “your announcement today to support US efforts” to provide humanitarian aid in Gaza.

“If this path ensures adequate humanitarian care, then the German government will support it. We are open to this approach, and I will be discussing it with the United Nations — especially with Secretary-General [Antonio] Guterres — this Tuesday in Berlin,” said Wadephul.

Ahead of his visit, Wadephul called for “serious discussions for a ceasefire” in Gaza, where he said the humanitarian situation “is now unbearable.”

Wadephul said it was “imperative” to start talks to “free all hostages and to ensure that supplies reach the population of Gaza,” according to comments reported by his ministry.

Gaza’s residents are facing a growing humanitarian crisis, with Israel enforcing a two-month blockade on aid supplies to the small Palestinian enclave following the collapse of the most recent ceasefire.

Israel has said that the Hamas terror group stole much of the aid entering the territory throughout the war, using it to supply its members and maintain control over the population, and therefore Israel won’t allow aid in until it puts in place a system giving it control over the distribution. Jerusalem also justifies the aid blockade as a necessary tool to pressure Hamas to release the 59 hostages terrorists are holding in the Strip.

Talks between Hamas and the US administration regarding a ceasefire in Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid to the enclave have been underway, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Sunday. However, there was no immediate comment from the US State Department.

Last week, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a plan to expand the military offensive in the Gaza Strip, and thousands of reservists have since been called up. The plan is expected to only be implemented after Trump’s visit to the region this week, and until then, efforts will be made to reach an agreement with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage deal.

On Friday, Huckabee announced that a US-backed mechanism for distributing aid into Gaza should take effect soon, while giving few details on the initiative.

The ambassador said that several partners had already committed to taking part in the aid arrangement but declined to name them, saying details would be released in the coming days.

He also argued that it was “wholly inaccurate” to describe the humanitarian aid initiative being launched in Gaza as Israeli, saying media reports characterizing it as such were “off the mark.”

Huckabee confirmed that the aid operation “is ongoing” but said Israel’s involvement will only be “on the perimeters” in securing the aid distribution zones and that the Israelis “care very much about humanitarian aid to Gaza, but they also care that Hamas doesn’t steal the aid.”

Asked by The Times of Israel how a potential ceasefire with Hamas could affect the initiative if it requires an IDF withdrawal to buffer zones, Huckabee said that “any ceasefire still requires security,” and the focus in any case will be getting the food to the Gazan population. He also said that humanitarian aid wasn’t dependent on the existence of a ceasefire.

He stated that the key elements of the plan were to get food distributed efficiently and safely, and prevent the Hamas terror group from getting its hands on it and stealing it. He panned Hamas as “100% responsible for the horrific situation” in the enclave, accusing the group’s leaders of “starving their people” and preventing a solution. He urged unanimous international condemnation of its “torturing of hostages in tunnels.”

Huckabee declined to give a timeline for when the aid will begin being distributed, beyond insisting that it will hopefully be very soon.

The US envoy acknowledged that the initiative “won’t be perfect — especially in its early days.”

“It is a logistical challenge to make this work,” he said.

The United Arab Emirates rejected an Israeli request to bankroll the new initiative, saying it fails to address the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, a senior official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Friday.

An Emirati minister told two Israeli officials who visited the UAE last Thursday that Abu Dhabi would not be able to provide such financial support because the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) initiative — as it currently stands — does not properly address the humanitarian crisis, the source said.

In addition, US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff briefed ambassadors of Security Council countries on the aid initiative last Wednesday in New York, after which the UN and international organizations updated on the GHF plan issued a statement saying they won’t cooperate with the initiative, since it doesn’t sufficiently address the crisis and “weaponizes” aid.

A Western diplomat told The Times of Israel last week that GHF had been planning to go public with the roll-out of its new initiative two weeks ago, but the lack of international support appears to be delaying the announcement. Organizers instead sufficed with the press conference held on Friday by Huckabee.

In the meantime, the Trump administration is pressuring international humanitarian organizations to cooperate with the new plan, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last week.

Amid this pushback from various groups, the Trump administration has indicated to these organizations — including the World Food Programme — that their US funding could be slashed if they do not cooperate, a staffer at an international aid group, a senior Western diplomat and an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.