US to fund controversial Gaza aid group with $30m: Report
The Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday that the US is giving $30m to the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US initiative backed by Israel that has been behind deadly food distribution sites in Gaza.
Reuters cites four of its own sources as well as a government document it has reviewed for its story.
This is the first known US government financial contribution to the organisation, which uses private US military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites, where Palestinians have been shot dead while seeking help.
At least 410 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get aid from the distribution hubs in Gaza, which the UN says is "likely war crime", adding that 'scores of people of all ages are being killed and injured every day'.
The document seen by Reuters showed an initial $7m disbursement had been made.
The US could approve additional monthly grants of $30 million for the GHF.
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5 hours ago
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US to fund controversial Gaza aid group with $30m: Report
The Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday that the US is giving $30m to the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US initiative backed by Israel that has been behind deadly food distribution sites in Gaza. Reuters cites four of its own sources as well as a government document it has reviewed for its story. This is the first known US government financial contribution to the organisation, which uses private US military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites, where Palestinians have been shot dead while seeking help. At least 410 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while trying to get aid from the distribution hubs in Gaza, which the UN says is "likely war crime", adding that 'scores of people of all ages are being killed and injured every day'. The document seen by Reuters showed an initial $7m disbursement had been made. The US could approve additional monthly grants of $30 million for the GHF.
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The head of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has sent a letter to the UN Secretary General requesting collaboration to deliver food to Palestinians in the war-torn coastal enclave. "The time has come to confront, without euphemism or delay, the structural failure of aid delivery in Gaza, and to course-correct decisively," Johnnie Moore, director of the GHF, said in the letter that was sent on Monday. Israel eased a months-long blockade on Gaza last month, but it has allowed only a limited amount of humanitarian aid into the enclave by way of the UN and the newly established GHF – a controversial US and Israeli-backed private organisation that is overhauling aid distribution. Mr Moore said the UN relies on "existing infrastructure", which has allowed for the "mass diversion, looting and the manipulation of humanitarian flows" by Hamas and other groups. The US and Israel have long accused Hamas of looting food and supplies meant for hungry Gazans. The GHF has founded sites around the enclave that are secured by a private security force meant to prevent looting. "The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has built and demonstrated an alternative model that is highly effective," he wrote, saying that the organisation has distributed more than 40 million meals. "Despite operating under grave threat, GHF has succeeded in surging emergency food aid directly to Palestinians in desperate need, bypassing intermediaries and restoring the the integrity of humanitarian action." Mr Moore called on the UN to engage "immediately and directly" with the GHF to deliver food without the use of "intermediaries, but through a model that has already proven its capacity to reach those in need". The UN human rights office reported on Tuesday that 500 people have been killed while trying to access aid at the GHF's secured sites, most of them by Israeli fire. Israel and the GHF have denied reports of violence. Mr Moore said a disinformation campaign has "sought to stop us from feeding people from the moment we started", adding that the UN has fallen victim to false reports. He wrote that the GHF has also been attacked by Hamas and other groups. This month, at least five people on a GHF bus carrying more than two dozen local Palestinians working with the initiative were killed and several injured. Mr Moore called on the UN to condemn attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza and denounce the obstruction of aid by Hamas. US President Donald Trump 's administration has authorised $30 million to be given to the GHF, according to reports. A document reviewed by Reuters showed that the $30 million US Agency for International Development grant was authorised on Friday under a "priority directive" from the White House and State Department.
