Opinion - GHF is actually feeding Gazans, not letting Hamas extort them — and paying a price

Yahoo

4 days ago

The likelihood of a ceasefire in Gaza could turn on whether Israel meets a core demand of Hamas to stop a successful effort to feed the Palestinian people.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distributed more than 60 million meals over the last five weeks without interference or diversion. This has severely undercut Hamas's revenue streams, because Hamas has for years stolen humanitarian aid and sold it at high prices, despite the daily struggle of the Palestinian people to meet their basic needs.
For Israel, the priority remains unchanged in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terror attacks: eliminate Hamas and free the hostages still held in its underground labyrinth.
At the same time, however, the world cannot ignore the immense suffering of Gaza's innocent civilians, most of whom are trapped by Hamas's control. Nor can Israel revert to the status quo ante, when Hamas was starving Gazans so it could finance terror.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, of course, has a singular mission: to feed the people of Gaza, safely and directly. It operates with transparency, logistical expertise, a commitment to human dignity, and yes, coordination with the Israeli government. Without that coordination, its food would face the same looting and diversion that plagues other aid organizations who see Israel as an obstacle.
For this success, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been rewarded with cheers from the Palestinian people in Gaza, as well as robust international condemnation from nearly everyone outside of the Trump administration, which has chipped in at least $30 million in support.
These critics claim that the foundation violates humanitarian principles by working with Israel. Their statements ignore the facts and focus instead on ideology. What they call 'neutrality' often serves as an excuse to avoid confronting the actions of Hamas, which routinely blocks aid and threatens aid workers.
Apparently, if you play by Hamas's rules — accept their fabricated statistics, their propaganda, and their theft of aid — you are considered 'legitimate' by much of the legacy media. But if you challenge that system by delivering aid efficiently, securely, and without Hamas' interference, you become the villain.
Even worse, Hamas has now turned its violence against Palestinian civilians for working with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Recently, Hamas attacked a bus of Palestinian foundation volunteers. According to regional reports, a Hamas unit killed or detained dozens of aid workers. Its operatives have also attacked American aid workers with explosives packed with ball bearings then before retreated into crowds of aid seekers, all in the hope of drawing fire and creating an international incident.
Despite the violence, the United Nations has remained nearly silent. The European Union has offered no meaningful condemnation. Some affiliated agencies have continued to question the foundation's mission while ignoring the violence. Only the U.S. has led with clarity in its condemnations.
The U.N., the International Red Cross and other captains of civil society insist on a sacrosanct neutrality that is effectively moral blindness. There are good and evil in this world. Feeding starving civilians is good; stealing the aid and murdering the people who feed them is evil.
People of faith should recognize that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is delivering help where others have failed and doing so in the face of violence and death-threats. It deserves our support, not our suspicion. The values behind this work are not abstract. They reflect the deepest commitments of the Judeo-Christian tradition: charity, mercy and human dignity.
While the ceasefire negotiations are underway, the UN, EU and international aid organizations should publicly pledge to work with GHF. If they will not assist, they should at least stop obstructing those who will. The time for moral equivocation has passed.
Congress will soon hold hearings on the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, too. Lawmakers should examine not only the work the foundation has done, but also the failure of other agencies to condemn or confront Hamas. If these groups continue to undermine the foundation or turn a blind eye to violence against its staff, American policymakers should reconsider how humanitarian dollars are allocated. Those who cannot condemn terror should not be trusted to address suffering.
The tools of compassion are challenging the forces of cruelty. Feeding the hungry is a sacred duty and now, thanks to the foundation, the people of Gaza are enjoying reliable access to food.
Hamas's opposition to feeding Palestinians must be understood. Aid organizations failing to fulfill their mission to bring aid to the people need to be named. And those who place bounties on their heads must be condemned and isolated. In a conflict filled with gray zones, this is a line the world must be willing to draw.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper is a senior leader with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and chairman emeritus of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
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