CNN
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The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial new US-backed organisation, announced that it will begin providing assistance to the besieged territory within two weeks, saying it has Israeli approval.
The move will bring some easing relief to the Gazas, facing sharp hunger from the 19-month war and two and a half months of blockade of all food, water, medical and humanitarian supplies in Israel.
More than half of Gaza’s population faces “urgent” or “catastrophic” levels of hunger, according to a non-supporting panel that was considered an authority on the issue.
However, the foundation was under serious criticism from humanitarian officials warning that it was inadequate and that it could put civilians at risk and encourage forced evacuation.
Here’s what we know about the new aid mechanism:
Israel began lockdowns in Gaza on March 2, the day after the early stages of a ceasefire with Hamas.
Authorities said their goal is to force the group to accept the new ceasefire conditions taken from Israel on October 7, 2023 and to force the group to release hostages.
Israel and the United States have also accused Hamas of stealing aid intended to civilians in Gaza. Hamas has rejected these claims, and humanitarian groups say the vast majority of food aid will reach civilians in need.
Whatever the motivation is, the impact is clear.
The hunger crisis has long preceded the total Israeli lockdown. Since the Hamas attack, Israel has strictly limited the amount of aid that can enter Gaza. And even before October 2023, Israel and Egypt had imposed a partial lockdown on Gaza. This means that 63% of the population was food insecurity.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), that figure is 100%. 70,000 children say they need emergency treatment for “acute malnutrition.”
It is a nonprofit set up as a US government urging to help alleviate hunger in Gaza while observing Israel, demanding that aid do not reach Hamas.
Israeli US ambassador Mike Huckabee set some of the organization’s goals at a press conference in Jerusalem last week.
It is led by Jake Wood, a US military veteran who founded and ran Team Lubicon, which provided humanitarian relief during natural disasters.
“By diversion of aid, aggressive combat and limited access, life-saving aid prevented it from reaching those it intended to provide and erode the trust of its donors,” the foundation said in a memorandum of understanding on its purpose. “GHF was established to restore its critical lifeline through an independent, rigorously audited model.
In the first press release, GHF listed heavy batters sitting on the board and rented out former WFP executive director David Beasley and former head of World Central Kitchen Nate Mook.
However, both Beasley and Mook told CNN that, contrary to these initial announcements, they still do not work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. A little bit about that.
The foundation says it will set up a “safe distribution site” to feed 1.2 million people, a population of Gaza’s estimated 2.1 million.
It said it will offer “pre-packaged distribution, hygiene kits and medical supplies.” They plan to move aid through “strickenly controlled corridors” that are “monitored in real time to prevent detours.”
It accepts both financial donations and “particle products.” This means direct donations of food and other aid.
The group coordinates with Israeli forces but says security will be provided by civilian military contractors, including American companies on the ground during the ceasefire earlier this year.
In a statement Wednesday, the foundation said it had asked Israel to approve the entry of aid through existing mechanisms as a measure of the halt gap until it is in operation. Israel has not yet publicly agreed.
Where does the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation get food and money?
That’s unknown.
In an announcement this week, the GHF said it was “in the final stage of procuring large quantities of food aid to compensate for existing pledges from humanitarian organisations operating in Gaza.” He said that it amounts to meals for over 300 million people.
No suppliers were listed.
Huckabee told reporters last week that “someone has already committed to supporting the funds,” but “doesn’t want to be disclosed yet.”
For a long time, the United Nations has been the heaviest burden of feeding, education and treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel had long had a controversial relationship with UNRWA, the UN agency of Palestinian refugees, but it completely burst in the aftermath of October 7th.
The Israeli government says some UNRWA staff members participated in the October 7 attack on Israel. The agency said that while most of the accused had been fired, Israel never provided evidence against them.
It led the Israeli Congress to ban UNRWA from activities in Israel, making unpublished humanitarian efforts extremely difficult.
But even more importantly, the United Nations says it is refusing to participate in the new US-backed Gaza Aid Initiative.
Why are the United Nations and humanitarian groups critical of it?
The UN humanitarian chief called it a “sarcastic sideshow” at the UN Security Council this week.
The UN and other aid groups say the way the GHF intends to work violates some basic humanitarian principles.
As Israel Katz said earlier this month, Gaza has been warned of being warned of encouraging Israel’s publicly stated goal of enforcing the “wide Gazan population” from northern Gaza. (The foundation says it asked Israel to help set up distribution points in the North.)
UN Aid Chief Calls Israel to Allow Gaza for Humanitarian Aid
The United Nations says that Israeli forces’ involvement in securing sites, even when removed, could lead to beneficiaries who are deterring participation or facing retaliation. The UN warning allows civilian military contractors to use force as a crowd control mechanism.
And, importantly, he says the initiative is simply inadequate. Currently there are 400 distribution points in Gaza. The programme is only a handful of people who are forced to “walking long distances carrying heavy rations.”
It is painful to say that both the US and GHF, despite their role in supporting Israel and designating and protecting distribution sites, is not an Israeli initiative.
“They won’t be involved in food distribution or even bringing food to Gaza,” Ambassador Huckabee said, referring to Israel. “Their roles remain at the boundary line.”
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian director, was struggling with a rating to the UN Security Council this week.
“It limits aid to only a portion of Gaza, while not meeting other disastrous needs,” he said. “It provides assistance on conditional political and military purposes. It makes starvation a negotiation tip. It’s an ironic sideshow. It’s an intentional distraction.
Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
