US-backed Gaza aid group launches reservation system after Trump calls for innovation in warzone deliveries
The foundation said that as more aid flows into Gaza, families will now be about to use the program to secure their parcels in advance, "bringing more ease, dignity, and order to the collection process." Under the current set-up at distribution sites, the GHF noted that younger, more fit men often outpace women, children, older men and people with disabilities to access aid, which is collected on a first-come, first-served basis.
"This is real progress," GHF Executive Director John Acree said in a statement. "It both demonstrates that GHF's model is working and reflects our commitment to adapting to the needs of those we serve and delivering on President Trump's call for innovation to get more humanitarian aid into the hands of the people who need it most in Gaza."
The voluntary new pilot program, designed to provide "safe, predictable access to GHF's food aid parcels," launched on Sunday in the Saudi Neighborhood with 350 participants and is expected to scale up to full implementation in the coming weeks as the foundation works to develop additional distribution sites.
GHF said the new system, which includes women-only days and lanes and community-based distribution, has long been requested by the community and is modeled on programs used by humanitarian organizations in Gaza and around the world. GHF said the pilot is the latest example of the foundation's ongoing efforts to "meet the very dynamic needs on the ground."
Under the new system, a trained local worker invites beneficiaries to participate. Those who voluntarily opt into the program will have their photo taken and receive an identification card with their photo and a unique number. GHF said beneficiaries have the option to create a profile online, where they can input information such as household size.
The foundation said a box of aid will be set aside on specific days for each participant, "eliminating the need to partake in the rush."
"It has always been our plan to offer a way for families to reserve aid in advance and guarantee access, just as other aid organizations do," Acree said. "Until now, however, conditions on the ground have made implementation of such a program impossible. But with more aid flowing into Gaza and GHF's deliveries helping stabilize food availability, conditions are improving. We are proud to take this step to deliver on the requests of the community and make distributions easier and more reliable for the people we serve."
Aid will continue to be available on a first-come, first-served basis to those who choose not to participate, according to the foundation. GHF said all data is securely stored and never shared.
GHF said the new system also enables the foundation to communicate directly with participating households about distribution times, special deliveries and urgent updates, "allowing the organization to adapt quickly to community needs."
Since the GHF began its operations on May 27, the organization has partnered with local Palestinian aid workers and non-governmental organizations to deliver nearly 125 million meals to Gazans.
Last month, during a visit to Scotland, President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing hunger crisis in Gaza and the urgency of getting food into the enclave immediately, while doing it safely and securely.
"The United States recently, just a couple of weeks ago, we gave $60 million.… No other nation gave money," Trump said at the time, as he urged other nations "to step up."
At least $30 million in U.S. contributions to Gaza have been channeled through the U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF.
In July, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay told Fox News Digital that the foundation "has one exclusive mission: to feed the people of Gaza in a way that prevents Hamas from being able to steal or loot or divert the aid."
In addition to having "zero diversion," Fay said GHF has "put [aid] directly into the hands of the people who need it the most."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Israeli controls choke Gaza relief at Egypt border, say aid workers
At the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, hundreds of aid trucks sat unmoving in the Egyptian desert, stuck for days with only a handful allowed through by Israel to relieve the humanitarian disaster across the border. After nearly two years of war, UN-backed experts have said famine is unfolding in the Palestinian territory, while there are also dire shortages of clean water and medicines. Yet aid groups say the flow of essential supplies remains painfully slow, despite the growing crisis. Israel continues to deny entry for life-saving medical equipment, shelters and parts for water infrastructure, four UN officials, several truck drivers and an Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer told AFP. They said the supplies were often rejected for being "dual-use", meaning they could be put to military use, or for minor packaging flaws. Some materials "just because they are metallic are not allowed to enter," said Amande Bazerolle, head of emergency response in Gaza at French medical charity MSF. Sitting on the Egyptian side was a truckload of intensive care gurneys baking in the sun, held back by the Israelis despite the UN reporting a severe shortage in Gaza, because one pallet was made of plastic instead of wood, aid workers said. Other shipments were turned away because "a single pallet is askew, or the cling film isn't wrapped satisfactorily", said an Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer. Even with everything lined up and approved beforehand, shipments can still be turned back, said Amal Emam, chief of the Egyptian Red Crescent. "You can have a UN approval number stuck to the side of a pallet, which means it should cross, it's been approved by all sides, including COGAT, but then it gets to the border and it's turned back, just like that." COGAT is the Israeli ministry of defence agency that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. Complying with the restrictions was also incredibly costly, Emam said. "I have never in my life as a humanitarian seen these kinds of obstacles being put to every bit of aid, down to the last inch of gauze," she added. - 'Engineered hunger' - Simple medicines such as ibuprofen can take a week to cross into Gaza. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation often has to rush to get insulin and other temperature-sensitive medicines through in regular trucks when Israeli officials reject the use of refrigerated containers. In a tent warehouse, dozens of oxygen tanks sat abandoned on Monday, gathering dust months after they were rejected, alongside wheelchairs, portable toilets and generators. "It's like they're rejecting anything that can give some semblance of humanity," a UN staffer told AFP, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press. Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA, said the prohibited list "is pages and pages of things". Truck drivers have reported spending days stuck watching other vehicles that are often carrying identical supplies either waved through or rejected without explanation. Egyptian driver Mahmoud El-Sheikh said he had been waiting for 13 days in scorching heat with a truck full of flour. "Yesterday, 300 trucks were sent back. Only 35 were allowed in," he said. "It's all at their discretion." Another driver, Hussein Gomaa, said up to 150 trucks lined up each night on the Egyptian side, but in the morning "the Israelis only inspect however many they want and send the rest of us back". AFP could not independently verify the daily aid volume entering Gaza from Egypt. A WHO official said that at most 50 trucks enter Gaza every day while Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said only 130-150 trucks cross daily, sometimes 200 -- about a third of what is needed. "This is engineered hunger," Abdelatty said on Monday, adding that over 5,000 trucks were waiting at the border. - 'Losing limbs' - Last week, COGAT denied blocking aid. In a post on X, it said Israel facilitates humanitarian aid while accusing Hamas of exploiting aid to "strengthen its military capabilities" and said 380 trucks entered Gaza last Wednesday. MSF warned aid bottlenecks were costing lives. It cannot bring in vital medical supplies as basic as scalpels or external fixators used to treat broken limbs. "People are at risk of losing limbs because we don't have basic tools," Bazerolle said. She added supplies were depleting faster than expected. "We order for three or five months and then in two months it's gone." bha-maf/dcp/dv Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
7 hours ago
- Fox News
US-backed Gaza aid group launches reservation system after Trump calls for innovation in warzone deliveries
FIRST ON FOX – Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.-backed aid group that has delivered more than two million boxes containing nearly 125 million meals to Gaza, is unveiling a pilot program enabling families to reserve aid parcels in advance. The foundation said that as more aid flows into Gaza, families will now be about to use the program to secure their parcels in advance, "bringing more ease, dignity, and order to the collection process." Under the current set-up at distribution sites, the GHF noted that younger, more fit men often outpace women, children, older men and people with disabilities to access aid, which is collected on a first-come, first-served basis. "This is real progress," GHF Executive Director John Acree said in a statement. "It both demonstrates that GHF's model is working and reflects our commitment to adapting to the needs of those we serve and delivering on President Trump's call for innovation to get more humanitarian aid into the hands of the people who need it most in Gaza." The voluntary new pilot program, designed to provide "safe, predictable access to GHF's food aid parcels," launched on Sunday in the Saudi Neighborhood with 350 participants and is expected to scale up to full implementation in the coming weeks as the foundation works to develop additional distribution sites. GHF said the new system, which includes women-only days and lanes and community-based distribution, has long been requested by the community and is modeled on programs used by humanitarian organizations in Gaza and around the world. GHF said the pilot is the latest example of the foundation's ongoing efforts to "meet the very dynamic needs on the ground." Under the new system, a trained local worker invites beneficiaries to participate. Those who voluntarily opt into the program will have their photo taken and receive an identification card with their photo and a unique number. GHF said beneficiaries have the option to create a profile online, where they can input information such as household size. The foundation said a box of aid will be set aside on specific days for each participant, "eliminating the need to partake in the rush." "It has always been our plan to offer a way for families to reserve aid in advance and guarantee access, just as other aid organizations do," Acree said. "Until now, however, conditions on the ground have made implementation of such a program impossible. But with more aid flowing into Gaza and GHF's deliveries helping stabilize food availability, conditions are improving. We are proud to take this step to deliver on the requests of the community and make distributions easier and more reliable for the people we serve." Aid will continue to be available on a first-come, first-served basis to those who choose not to participate, according to the foundation. GHF said all data is securely stored and never shared. GHF said the new system also enables the foundation to communicate directly with participating households about distribution times, special deliveries and urgent updates, "allowing the organization to adapt quickly to community needs." Since the GHF began its operations on May 27, the organization has partnered with local Palestinian aid workers and non-governmental organizations to deliver nearly 125 million meals to Gazans. Last month, during a visit to Scotland, President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing hunger crisis in Gaza and the urgency of getting food into the enclave immediately, while doing it safely and securely. "The United States recently, just a couple of weeks ago, we gave $60 million.… No other nation gave money," Trump said at the time, as he urged other nations "to step up." At least $30 million in U.S. contributions to Gaza have been channeled through the U.S.- and Israeli-backed GHF. In July, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay told Fox News Digital that the foundation "has one exclusive mission: to feed the people of Gaza in a way that prevents Hamas from being able to steal or loot or divert the aid." In addition to having "zero diversion," Fay said GHF has "put [aid] directly into the hands of the people who need it the most."
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
International aid drops continue as Israel prepares for an invasion of Gaza City
International aid was seen being airdropped in Gaza City on Sunday. For over two weeks different countries have been participating in the delivery of aid from planes. The airdrops are not adequate for Gaza, UN and humanitarian agencies say, as they don't reach those most in need, and sometimes fall in the sea or red zones, and even over crowded areas with tents injuring or killing people.
