How will Gaza aid distribution operate under a controversial U.S.-backed group? This is what we know
Questions have been raised over the controversy behind U.S. support groups, which have been criticized and widely condemned by other aid agencies operating on the territory after the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation resigned on Monday.
Who is behind this newly formed humanitarian organization and what does the organization expect to do? Why do you think it is so controversial? Why did the head of the organization suddenly resign before the war-torn enclave began?
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said it will start operations this week.
GHF said Tuesday that HAMAS caused delays in civilian access to distribution locations, but since then, 8,000 food boxes have been restored so far and 8,000 boxes have been distributed so far.
This is after nearly three months of lockdown on Israel’s medical, fuel and food supply, which has been partially lifted in recent days only after international criticism and a famine warning from global hunger monitors.
This is what we know about organizations, how their new aid distribution program will work and the criticisms they face.
What is the Humanitarian Foundation of Gaza?
The U.S.-backed GHF was founded in Switzerland in February, according to the Geneva Business Registry.
The organization is key to a new aid system that will seize distribution from UN-led aid groups that has been operating on a large scale since the war began in October 2023.
The group was originally launched as an Israeli program and received Israeli approval to take over the aid allocation in Gaza, with the organization aiming to start work by the end of May.
Israel said it will promote GHF's work without involvement in aid.
It is not clear who is funding the GHF.
It claims to have a promise from the EU government over $100 million, but has not named donors yet. The United States and Israel said they did not provide funding for it.
Swiss authorities said on Sunday that they were exploring whether to conduct a legal investigation into GHF's activities, after a request for an investigation into the GHF aid program was filed after the trial by Swiss national non-governmental organization International.
The NGO said it had submitted two legal submissions requiring Swiss authorities to investigate whether Swiss registered GHFs comply with Swiss law and international humanitarian law.
How will its aid distribution program work?
The group plans to be centrally allocated through the hub. It said each of its four initial hubs will serve meals to about 300,000 people and said it will eventually be able to meet the needs of 2 million people.
GHF said it will create more hubs in 30 days, including in northern Gaza, but does not specify its exact location.
The assistance will deliver supplies of armored vehicles from the Gaza border to the hub with the help of private subcontractors, where they will also provide security.
The World Health Organization warns that the risk of famine and mass hunger in Gaza is rising. Palestinian health officials said dozens of children have died of malnutrition since March and Israel has blocked all aid shipments.
Additionally, GHF says that each meal will have 1,750 calories. This is below the standard of 2,100 calories per day in emergencies used by the United Nations World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Food Program.
Satellite photos obtained by the Associated Press show what appears to be the structure of the wheel hub.
The photos show a picture in central Gaza, near the Netzarim corridor, a piece of land held by Israeli forces. The other three are located in the Rafa area south of the Morag Corridor in another military possession zone.
Currently, almost the entire population is currently in northern Gaza, or currently there is no hub location – or central Gaza. Palestinians will have to cross Israeli military routes to reach the hub near Rafa.
Israel is responsible for reviewing all aid to enter Gaza and regularly denies the militant group Hamas to put all its claimed items into military use.
Israel said the new system is designed to separate aid from Hamas, who accused theft and use of food to exert control over the population. Hamas rejected Israel's claims, saying it protected the aid convoy from armed plunderers.
According to the Sols, the 19-month war was triggered after the attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, causing about 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 people as hostages.
According to its health authorities, the Israeli attack killed more than 53,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and it destroyed many territories and razed them to the ground.
What prompted the group to resign unexpectedly?
GHF executive director Jake Wood resigned on Monday.
Wood said he stepped down because the organization was unable to “comply with humanitarian principles, be neutral, just and independent.”
His unexpected sudden departure emphasized the chaos around the foundation.
Palestinian health officials have confirmed that at least 50 people have died after overnight air strikes across Gaza. A strike attacked a school that was used as a shelter for displaced persons. Officials say the intensified Israeli crime has made it increasingly difficult to deliver aid.
Until his resignation, Wood, the U.S. military veteran and co-founder of the Rubicon team, was the face of GHF.
It is unclear who will take over Wood’s role in the foundation.
The group circulated earlier this month and obtained by the Associated Press, a proposal that included several names, including David Beasley, a former director of the United Nations World Food Program. Neither Beasley nor GHF confirmed his involvement.
Why are other aid organizations opposed this group?
The United Nations and other aid groups said the new plan would “weaponized aid” to achieve Israel’s military and political purposes.
They say it is simply not necessary because many of their own aid trucks remain at the crossing point and are not allowed to enter.
The group said under this new plan that Israel will have the right to determine who gets aid and allow it Force the population to move to the place where aid is allocated, clearing up the majority of the territory. This could violate international laws against forced displacement.
“We cannot participate in a system of violations of humanitarian principles and risks involving our serious violations of international law,” said Shaina Low, communications adviser for the Norwegian Refugee Commission, a leading aid group that operates in Gaza.
With the risk of famine, many Ghaz people have lifted at least temporarily the ban on aid to the region after attacking the Israeli military.
The UN said the private organization responsible for distributing aid in Gaza distracted the needed attention, such as open intersections and had neither fair nor neutral plans, adding that it would not participate.
The team also said that the GHF program could not meet the needs of Gaza's huge and desperate population.
UNICEF spokesman James Elder said on Monday that the United Nations and other aid groups “absolutely show that they can meet the needs of the population.”
“We just need to continue to restore to the effective method.”
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that under the aid mechanism, Gaza's population will eventually be transferred to a “sterile zone” far south of Gaza. He said it was to protect them, while Israeli forces fought Hamas elsewhere. He also said that once Palestinians enter the area, “they don’t have to go back.”
Israel also said it will implement a plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the region’s population outside Gaza after Hamas is defeated, a proposal that has been widely condemned by international groups.
GHF said in a statement that it is independent and non-political and will not be part of any large-scale displacement.
