Controversial Gaza Aid Organization Promises to Continue Operations Amid Ongoing Palestinian Tragedies
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, supported by Israel and the US, is less than six weeks old but has already become embroiled in controversy, with near-daily mass killings of desperate Palestinians seeking food from its aid hubs.
Officials from Israel and the US assert that this new system, managed by American contractors, was established to prevent aid from reaching Hamas militants and have urged the UN and other agencies to collaborate.
In contrast, the UN refutes claims of widespread aid diversion from its established distribution networks, labeling the foundation a “death trap” that has “weaponised aid” for the starving people of Gaza.
Since the GHF commenced operations on 27 May, following a 78-day total Israeli blockade on food, water, and medicine into Gaza, international organizations estimate that over 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,000 injured near four GHF-managed aid distribution sites.
The following day, Swiss authorities took steps to shut down the Geneva office of the foundation.
However, Reverend Johnnie Moore, the American evangelical pastor and chair of the GHF, pledged that the sites would remain operational and hinted that other countries, including European nations, might soon express their support publicly.
Palestinians were seen carrying aid packages from the GHF.
“Several European nations have been involved largely behind the scenes – hopefully that will change in the near future,” Mr. Moore told the BBC.
To date, the US State Department has announced €26 million in funding.
Yet initial funding reportedly came from “two anonymous European countries,” according to Mr. Moore.
Amid the fog of war, the GHF finds itself at the center of a narrative battle, with Israeli authorities blaming Hamas militants for the deaths of starving civilians and accused of running a propaganda campaign against the Israeli military.
Nevertheless, eyewitnesses, international NGOs, and local rescuers allege that IDF troops have employed tanks, machine guns, and mortar fire against unarmed men, women, and children.
This week, whistleblowers from the GHF revealed that US contractors used live ammunition and stun grenades on Palestinians waiting for aid. The GHF dismissed these claims as inaccurate.
Israel has prohibited international media from reporting in Gaza.
Last week, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz published testimonies from unnamed IDF soldiers claiming they had been ordered to shoot at crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid, despite the civilians posing no threat.
One soldier referred to the approach routes to a GHF distribution site as a “killing field.”
According to the soldier, there were no crowd control measures or tear gas employed, with troops dubbing the operation “Salted fish,” a reference to the Korean TV show Squid Game.
The IDF acknowledged firing “warning shots” on several occasions but denied allegations of intentional shootings.
Following the Ha’aretz exposé, the Israeli military initiated an internal investigation.
However, this report has faced condemnation from the Israeli government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz accused the publication of disseminating a “blood libel.”
“These are malicious falsehoods intended to defame the IDF, the most moral military in the world,” they stated in a joint release.
Nonetheless, the narratives shared by Israeli soldiers and GHF whistleblowers appear to support testimony collected by Budour Hassan, a researcher focusing on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories at Amnesty International.
Eyewitnesses described arrows marked on the ground, directing individuals as they approached the aid point, Ms. Hassan relayed to RTÉ News.
“We have tens of thousands of people [in these lines],” Ms. Hassan stated, “and the moment individuals stray from the designated line, the shooting begins.”
People also reported the presence of low-flying drones and quadcopters firing bullets into crowds.
One documented incident involved a 17-year-old boy searching for his father, who had gone missing near a GHF site.
Eyewitnesses recounted scenes of chaos when the gates of the aid distribution sites were opened.
“The boy was shot in the leg while looking for his father,” she noted.
Three eyewitnesses, in separate interviews, described hearing a voice transmitted in Arabic from a quadcopter informing crowds that no aid was available that day and instructing them to return home, followed by laughter, Ms. Hassan recalled.
The aid hubs generally operate very late at night or early in the morning, she noted.
“We’re talking about from midnight to 2 AM – sometimes at 5 AM,” she explained, adding that “[people] must walk for more than four or five hours on foot, due to a lack of fuel, transportation, and destroyed roads.”
Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes as the gates of aid sites opened, with assistance distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, she reported.
“Sometimes, it’s very dark at night, and you can hardly see what’s beside you as they rush for whatever scraps they can obtain,” she recounted, “and then they begin shooting.”
“We’ve been speaking with several families whose loved ones have been missing for over a month while attempting to collect food from the GHF, and they still have no idea where they are,” she said.
“They never returned.”
If the GHF had successfully delivered aid to Palestinians humanely, humanitarian organizations would have been the first to commend them, Ms. Hassan conveyed to RTÉ News.
This organization clearly has a role, she stated, and that is to “do the dirty work, unfortunately, of the Israeli military.”
However, US acting representative to the United Nations, John Kelley, informed a UN Security Council meeting that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation “has committed to delivering aid consistent with humanitarian principles.”
“And, contrary to Hamas’ portrayal, the GHF continues to provide vital food aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, having distributed over 50 million meals as of June 29,” he stated to the Security Council.
The head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation also accused the United Nations and other international aid organizations of “sabotage” and of spreading “lies that originate in Hamas.”
Reverend Johnnie Moore assumed leadership of the GHF after its previous head, Jake Wood, stepped down, citing concerns about adherence to “humanitarian principles.”
“Organizations we once considered respectable – I hardly call them that anymore – have attacked us repeatedly,” Mr. Moore said on a podcast produced by the Israel-based Misgav Institute for National Security.
“Throughout this process, we’ve been asking, ‘cooperate with us … teach us, let’s find ways to solve problems together,’ but to no avail,” he explained.
Mr. Moore expressed a desire to collaborate with the World Food Programme and other UN bodies but claimed that the UN had “been sabotaging us from the very beginning.”
In response to RTÉ News’ inquiry about accusations of sabotage, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, stated, “No – we’ve never advised people against visiting their sites.”
“Who are we to tell hungry people not to do this?” he added.
“All we’re asking is that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operate within internationally accepted norms,” Mr. Dujarric remarked to RTÉ News.
The UN does not possess or seek a monopoly on humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, he stated.
“There is ample work for everyone,” Mr. Dujarric said.
“What we request is that organizations adhere to the minimal standards, globally accepted in humanitarian aid: impartiality, independence, and operate in a manner that does not endanger the recipients by exposing them to gunfire,” he concluded.
