Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The Hindu

2 days ago

Aid finally started flowing into Gaza last week, ending a three-month blockade by Israel. In charge of aid operations was the newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a Swiss-based entity backed by the U.S and Israel.
The GHF has started distributing aid in Gaza via four centralised distribution centres, and said it will open more hubs within a month. Aid will be delivered to the centres via armoured tanks operated by private subcontractors, who will also safeguard its operations. The BBC has noted the presence of Israeli soldiers near the distribution centres.
The GHF aimed to reach one million people at the end of its first week of operations. Three of its sites are in the Rafah area in southern Gaza. A fourth camp is close to the Netzarim corridor in Central Gaza, controlled by the Israeli military. None of the sites are in the north, the region mainly targeted by Israel's strikes. Thousands have reportedly crossed Israeli military lines to access the aid sites. A GHF spokesperson said on May 30 that the Foundation had already distributed 2 million meals. However, only one site was reportedly active, and shut down after it ran out of supplies.
Eyewitness accounts say aid packages have consisted of canned food, pasta, rice, cooking oil, biscuits and lentils. The GHF has said it will distribute meals with 1,750 calories- below the 2,100-calorie per day standard for meals used by UN agencies in emergency situations. A GHF document has reportedly promised to hand out water and hygiene kits at the sites as well.
As per a New York Times report, the GHF resulted from 'private meetings of like-minded officials, military officers and businesspeople with close ties to the Israeli government'. Until his resignation last Sunday, it was run by Jake Wood, a U.S military veteran who also headed a relief group called Team Rubicon, and consists of a group of American security contractors, army veterans and aid workers.
It is unclear who is now in charge, and funding streams remain vague, with the U.S and Israel both denying financial backing. An AP report noted that the GHF claims that an unnamed government in the EU has committed around $100 million.
The GHF aims to sidestep the UN as the main provider of aid to the devastated region. Earlier, Mr. Wood said parallel aid from the UN would continue till eight GHF hubs are established, and that non-humanitarian aid would also be distributed by the UN network. UN agencies had been moving food, medicine and other supplies across Gaza since the war began in October 2023, operating 400 distribution sites for aid before they were blocked by Israel.
About a week back, Israel opened up the border to allow a small inflow of supplies, indicating that the UN would be able to distribute the supplies till the GHF was up and running.
The initial operations of the GHF were further complicated by Palestinian civilians overrunning the aid distribution centre after it opened on Tuesday, resulting in injuries and at least three deaths.
Hunger on the rise
Hunger and desperation are on the rise in Gaza. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a multi-partner initiative focused on analysing nutrition and improving food security, warned in March last year that Gaza was facing a famine. UN estimates say that almost 2 million Gazans are on the brink of starvation; the WHO warned that hunger in Gaza threatened to permanently stunt the growth and cognitive development of an entire generation of children.
The GHF said in a statement it is apolitical and that it won't displace Palestinians. However, it has been condemned by the UN and other aid agencies, which say that the mechanism would allow Israel to use food as a weapon, and that it violates humanitarian principles.
Palestinians have also alleged that the aid effort by the GHF was disorganised, and was hampered by a lack of communication. Misinformation also proliferated on social media about the aid sites, claiming that looting had taken place or that centres were shut down. Further criticisms emerged after videos showed Palestinians running away from the perimeter of one of the aid centres to escape a projectile thrown by the security contractors. The GHF said in a statement that its personnel had 'encountered a tense and potentially dangerous crowd that refused to disperse' and had used 'non-lethal deterrents' to 'prevent escalation and ensure the safety of civilians and staff'.
Israel has mooted for an alternative aid distribution system to avoid what it claims is theft by Hamas from the existing aid networks. Aid convoys of the UN have previously been attacked by Israel. Some of these strikes have killed aid workers as well.
Hamas, meanwhile, has denied looting allegations. The Hamas-run interior ministry has warned Palestinians to be cautious while dealing with the GHF.
In mid-2024, the U.S. built a humanitarian pier off Gaza to enable aid access to the strip, but Palestinians suspected that it would be used for military purposes. Rights organisations pointed out that this was eyewash to obfuscate Israel preventing all land crossings, even for aid. At one point, aid supplies were air-dropped to the war-torn region, a solution considered both dehumanising and ineffective by rights organisations
The UN Relief and Works Agency, the primary aid organisation working to help Palestinians, has been undermined and hobbled.
It has been targeted by misinformation and faced a withdrawal of funds and a ban imposed by Israel's Parliament. A former UNRWA representative called the GHF initiative 'aid-washing', meant to mask the starvation of Palestinians.