US gives $30m to controversial aid group in Gaza despite violence concerns

Express Tribune

10 hours ago

Palestinians gather at a food distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on 21 May 2025, as Israel allows a limited amount of aid into the enclave. PHOTO:REUTERS
The United States is giving $30 million to a controversial humanitarian group delivering aid in war-torn Gaza, despite concerns among some US officials about the month-old operation and the killing of Palestinians near food distribution sites, according to four sources and a document seen by Reuters.
Washington has long backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) diplomatically, but this is the first known US government financial contribution to the organization. GHF uses private US military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites.
A document reviewed by Reuters showed that the $30 million grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was authorized on Friday under a "priority directive" from the White House and State Department. The document also noted an initial $7 million disbursement had been made.
The United States could approve additional monthly grants of $30 million for the GHF, said two of the sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
The White House referred questions to the State Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation declined to comment on the U.S. funding or concerns about the operation. Israel's embassy also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In approving the funding, sources said the State Department exempted the foundation—whose finances have not been publicly disclosed—from an audit usually required for first-time USAID recipients.
"Such an audit would normally take many, many weeks if not months," said one source, a former senior US official.
GHF was also exempted from additional vetting normally required for groups supplying aid to Gaza—governed by Iran-backed Hamas—to ensure no links to extremism, the sources said.
GHF is working with a for-profit logistics firm, Safe Reach Solutions, headed by a former CIA officer, and a security contractor, UG Solutions, which employs armed US military veterans.
Violence concerns
Reuters reported earlier this month that US ally Israel had asked President Donald Trump's administration to give $500 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Sources said the money would come from USAID, which is being folded into the State Department.
Some US officials opposed the funding over concerns about violence near aid distribution sites, GHF's inexperience, and its reliance on for-profit US logistics and private military firms, said the four sources.
Since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza on May 19—allowing limited UN aid deliveries to resume—the United Nations reports that over 400 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid from both UN and GHF operations.
"The majority of the casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach US-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarized zones," said Jonathan Whittall, senior UN aid official for the occupied Palestinian territories, on Sunday.
"Others have been killed when Israeli forces have fired on Palestinian crowds waiting for food along routes," he said. "Some people have also been killed or injured by armed gangs."
In response, GHF said on Tuesday it had delivered 40 million meals in Gaza so far. It claimed the UN and other groups were struggling due to looting of trucks and warehouses.
A GHF spokesperson stated none of its trucks had been looted:
'Bottom line, our aid is getting securely delivered. Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome the UN and other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza. We are ready to collaborate and help them get their aid to people in need.'
Earlier this month, GHF briefly halted deliveries to press Israel to improve civilian safety near its sites after dozens of Palestinians were killed seeking aid. The group claims there have been no incidents at its own distribution points.
The UN has long described its Gaza aid operation as opportunistic—hindered by Israel's military campaign, restricted access, and looting by armed gangs. The UN stresses that when a steady flow of aid is established, looting tends to subside.