A US and Israel-endorsed foundation, known as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has started delivering aid to Gaza, the BBC via Reuters reported on May 27th.
On May 8th, the United States first revealed that GHF would soon present an aid strategy for Gaza. The statement comes after a troubling announcement from the UN World Food Programme. The agency confirmed it has no remaining food supplies in Gaza because of Israel’s blockade.
The foundation said trucks filled with food are in secure sites and that aid distribution to people had started. The foundation did not confirm where it handed out the aid or what the quantity of the distribution was.
The GHF said in a statement on the night of May 26th: “More trucks with aid will be delivered [on Tuesday], with the flow of aid increasing each day.” The militant group, Hamas, has warned Palestinians against cooperating with the foundation’s distribution system.
GHF took control of aid distribution despite United Nations objections. Vital supplies arrived as Israeli attacks killed at least 52 people in Gaza on May 26th, according to The Guardian.
The UN and several aid groups rejected GHF’s plans, saying they breach humanitarian norms and aim to “weaponise aid.”
On May 25th, Jake Wood, GHF’s leader, stepped down, stating that officials would not allow the foundation to work independently. Wood said in a statement, it was “not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”
Under the GHF’s plan, Palestinians must take food and hygiene item boxes for their relatives from various distribution sites. The UN along with other agencies cautioned that the GHF’s method will exclude many with mobility challenges and increase displacement, endangering thousands. They stated it ties aid to political and military aims and sets a harmful example for worldwide assistance.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that the GHF was “militarised, privatised, politicised.” He added it was “not in conformity with neutrality.”
The UN World Food Programme leader warned the aid was only a “drop in the bucket,” and fell short of what the territory needed to reverse extreme hunger.
BBC via Reuters, The Guardian
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