The image of Greta Thunberg eyeing a turkey sandwich as she is taken into Israeli custody has been picked up across pro-Israel social media. And on the other side of the ideological spectrum, supporters of Thunberg, who is vegan, decried the “hostage-taking” of the Swedish climate activist and other participants on the boat that had been headed to Gaza before its interception overnight by Israel’s navy.

But the stunt — after all, the small vessel carrying Thunberg and the other activists could carry only a minimal amount of aid — has briefly taken global attention away from the legitimate efforts to distribute aid in Gaza, amid mounting distribution challenges following the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation last month.

Distribution through the GHF was briefly paused last week following a series of incidents in and around distribution sites, including the shooting of some Gazans as they neared sites as instructed, and the rush on other facilities by crowds of Gazans. Additionally, the GHF said it was forced to close its distribution sites on Saturday due to threats from Hamas.

Further complicating issues is Israel’s support for an armed militia in Gaza that opposes Hamas, which Jewish Insider reported on last week. The Israeli decision to arm members of Yasser Abu Shabab’s gang in southern Gaza — which was made without the input of the Israeli security cabinet — is causing backlash in Israel, where former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman pushed back against the plan, alleging that in attempting to pit Palestinian factions against each other, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “still continuing with the same idea that led us to the greatest massacre in the history of the state.”

Frustration over the situation from some of Israel’s staunchest defenders has at times boiled into public view. Speaking in Turkey last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was “troubled” by the humanitarian situation in Gaza, while Vice President JD Vance briefly addressed the humanitarian issue over the weekend in an interview with podcaster Theo Von. 

The State Department is reportedly considering allocating $500 million to the GHF’s operations — money that would come from USAID’s budget as the agency is folded into the State Department. But Israel has yet to demonstrate that it is able, through the GHF, to distribute aid at a large scale. And major challenges remain: that some of the most vulnerable are not in areas where easy and safe distribution is possible, and also that the distribution is taking place in a war zone with a rapidly changing security situation, and a route or site that is deemed safe one day may be unusable the next.

Kinks are to be expected as the GHF expands its operations. The open question, as distribution enters its third week, is if the GHF, with the backing of Israel and international partners, can address the existing challenges and scale up to meet the soaring humanitarian needs in the enclave, and whether in the longer term it can serve as a viable alternative to the many aid agencies and organizations with whom Israel refuses to work, or vice versa. 

It is against that backdrop that the GHF, Israel, the U.S. and other involved parties are working to formulate an implementable plan that avoids the logistical challenges of recent weeks. Thunberg’s boat stunt made headlines. But a functioning aid distribution apparatus, when operating at scale, can make a difference.