Gaza aid points close as Israel warns against travel to distribution centres
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has announced that it is going to halt the limited food distribution operations permitted by Israeli authorities at centres in the Gaza Strip for one day.
It said it planned to resume operations on Thursday after working on security measures.
It comes as Israel's military on Tuesday warned residents of Gaza against travel in areas leading to the distribution centres, after at least 27 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for food at the points set up by the US-backed GHF.
An Israeli military spokesperson said roads leading to the distribution centres were considered 'combat zones'.
Israeli authorities have been imposing the use of GHF to distribute food rather than any of the agencies that traditionally operate in Gaza.
On Tuesday, 21 trucks of food were distributed. During the ceasefire earlier this year, 600 trucks a day were required to meet the needs of the Palestinian population. Israel has been blockading aid and food from entering the territory for weeks.
It comes as Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader and adviser to Donald Trump on interfaith issues, was on Tuesday appointed the new head of the GHF
The controversial US- and Israeli-backed initiative has been attempting to recover from top-level resignations during a tumultuous rollout last week.
Mr Moore, a member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and founder of the boutique advisory firm Kairos Company, was appointed the new head of the GHF after Jake Wood, a former marine, resigned, saying that he could not guarantee the GHF's independence from Israeli interests.
Mr Moore has been a vocal defender of the GHF, who has bristled at public criticism of the rollout, telling the UN chief, António Guterres, on X that reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza was 'a lie … spread by terrorists'.
Major partners continue to abandon the GHF, which was launched with vocal support from US government officials. Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a US consulting firm, said it had cancelled its contract with the GHF on Tuesday amid growing media scrutiny into the group's work and sources of funding.
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