Democrats demand Trump cut funding for controversial Gaza aid organization
The letter, led by senators Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Peter Welch of Vermont, comes as international criticism mounts over the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's operations, arguing that its model 'shatters well-established norms that have governed distribution of humanitarian aid since the ratification of the Geneva Conventions in 1949' by blurring the lines between aid delivery and military security operations.
'According to reports and eyewitness accounts, civilians have been fired at by tanks, drones, and helicopters, as well as soldiers on the ground, as they attempt to get food and humanitarian supplies,' the senators wrote.
The Trump administration authorized a $30m grant to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in late June, with $7m already disbursed according to documents seen by the Guardian. The organization, which is backed by both Israeli and US interests, has been given preferential access to operate in Gaza through coordination with the Israeli military and private US security contractors.
However, the rollout of the new scheme has been marked by death and destruction from the outset. Jake Wood, the founding executive director and former US marine, resigned on 25 May, saying: 'It is 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.'
Boston Consulting Group, the US firm handling some of the foundation's logistics, also withdrew shortly after.
Since launching in May, the foundation's four distribution sites have become killing fields. UN human rights officials report 766 people were killed trying to reach GHF sites specifically, with nearly 5,000 more injured in the chaos. More than 1,000 have been killed trying to go to food aid sites in general, according to UN figures, and 100 are believed to have died of starvation.
The senators also highlighted concerns about the US security contractors involved in the operation. Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions have reportedly been contracted to provide security at distribution sites, with Associated Press reporting: 'American contractors guarding aid distribution sites in Gaza are using live ammunition and stun grenades as hungry Palestinians scramble for food.'
According to the AP report they cite, 'bullets, stun grenades and pepper spray were used at nearly every distribution, even if there was no threat,' despite many contractors lacking combat experience or proper weapons training.
UG Solutions, one of the North Carolina-based contractors, is reported to have recently hired the crisis communications firm Seven Letter, whose leadership includes former Biden and Obama administration spokespersons, bringing in former Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh in June, according to a press release on a now taken-down website.
Anthony Aguilar, a US Army veteran and former contractor for the foundation, told BBC News over the weekend that he witnessed Israeli forces 'shooting at the crowds of Palestinians' and firing 'a main gun tank round from the Merkava tank into a crowd of people'. He described the operation as 'amateur' and said he had 'never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population'.
The senators criticized the Trump administration for exempting the foundation from standard oversight procedures, including comprehensive audits usually required for first-time USAID grant recipients. They noted that USAID officials had raised 'critical concerns' about the proposal, citing 'operational and reputational risks and lack of oversight'.
The foundation has maintained that it has distributed more than 95m meals to civilians across Gaza and denies that violence has occurred at its sites, attributing reports to Hamas misinformation.
While on a presidential visit to Scotland, Trump on Sunday claimed that Hamas was stealing food aid sent to Gaza, parroting a similar allegation by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu which is being used to justify restrictions on humanitarian deliveries, despite Israel's own military officials admitted to not having any evidence to substantiate it..
In recent weeks, the organization has become increasingly aggressive in its social media responses, with posts claiming the UN 'can't successfully move their aid to Palestinians' and that 'they've simply stopped trying.' The foundation's executive chairperson, the Rev Johnnie Moore, also dug in, publishing an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal proposing to take over delivery of all UN aid sitting idle in Gaza. Moore wrote that there were hundreds of UN trucks loaded with food in Gaza, and offered to 'deliver all of this aid, for free, on behalf of the U.N'.
However, the senators argue that the foundation's model, with only four militarized distribution sites, cannot replace the UN-led network that previously operated more than 400 aid distribution points during temporary ceasefires.
The letter also lands as two prominent Israeli human rights groups, B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, declared on Monday that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, Their assessment, citing 'coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society', marks the first time major Israeli rights organizations have publicly reached this conclusion.
The senators gave Secretary Rubio two weeks to respond to a series of detailed questions about civilian casualties, funding mechanisms, contractor operations, and compliance with humanitarian principles.
'There should be no American taxpayer dollars contributing to this scheme,' the senators wrote.
Also on Monday, independent senator Angus King from Maine said he would oppose providing additional US support to Israel until the country addresses the humanitarian crisis, saying Israel's conduct has been 'an affront to human decency'.
King, who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement: 'I am through supporting the actions of the current Israeli government and will advocate – and vote – for an end to any United States support whatsoever until there is a demonstrable change in the direction of Israeli policy.
'My litmus test will be simple: no aid of any kind as long as there are starving children in Gaza due to the action or inaction of the Israeli government.'
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