US-backed Gaza aid group launches bold new system to deliver food directly to families
The new system enables community leaders to contact GHF or one of its non-governmental organization (NGO) partners to coordinate local distribution. A GHF team will vet the leader, determine their needs, and set up the initial distribution of food aid. Boxes will be collected by locals at a predetermined location, and GHF will verify that boxes are distributed to aid recipients listed by the community leader.
GHF interim Executive Director John Acree told Fox News Digital, "We simply can't keep doing things how they've always been done. Big challenges need new thinking, and I commend our team for continuing to think outside the box as we address pressing humanitarian needs on the ground."
Using this method, GHF partnered with Gazan NGO Al-Amal to successfully deliver some 2,000 boxes of food aid to residents of central Gaza.
Though GHF has delivered 67 million meals since beginning operations in May, it has faced criticism over its distribution model, which required Gazans to reach one of four distribution points to receive aid.
Critics, including the U.N., UNRWA and other aid groups, have seized on reports that aid recipients have been shot at and even killed by the Israel Defense Forces while seeking GHF aid. The IDF said those reports "are false."
Testimonies from Gaza residents, released by Israel's Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), show that "Hamas fires at Gaza residents near the aid distribution sites, spreads false claims about IDF fire, publishes fabricated data about large numbers of casualties, and circulates fake footage," COGAT said.
GHF leaders have also charged Hamas with hoarding humanitarian aid, and selling or using the aid "for coercive purposes."
Acree acknowledged that "The Gaza Strip is a dynamic, dangerous environment that requires innovative solutions to get food to those who need it most. This is the latest example of GHF doing exactly that. I am encouraged by the results of this program and proud to work alongside our local NGO partner as we continue to feed the people of Gaza."
GHF hopes to partner with additional NGOs to expand its delivery service. Its ultimate goal is to distribute over 20,000 boxes of aid – 1.2 million meals – each day throughout Gaza.
Despite negative feedback about the GHF model from the UNRWA and NGOs, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of the important role the new aid system plays in getting Gazans fed.
In an exclusive interview with FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria," on Wednesday, Netanyahu was asked whether he would agree to demands that the U.N. be placed back in charge of humanitarian aid distributions in Gaza.
"We have our own distribution system that has been established to prevent Hamas from stealing the food that is supposed to go to the population," Netanyahu replied. "They steal it, they take it for themselves and the remainder, they hike the prices and basically, extort the Palestinian population in order to use it to continue recruiting people to their war machine.
"Obviously, we don't want to give up the thing that we began with, which is distribution that goes directly to the people."
The U.S. State Department has already approved funding of $30 million for GHF.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Syria pledges to form committee to investigate clashes in Sweida
The committee would investigate reported attacks and abuses against civilians and refer anyone proven to have participated in such attacks to the judiciary. Syria has pledged to investigate clashes in the southern province of Sweida, which killed hundreds of people last month - the second major episode of sectarian violence since the ouster of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. In a decree dated July 31, Justice Minister Muzher al-Wais said a committee of seven people - including judges, lawyers, and a military official - would look into the circumstances that led to the "events in Sweida" and report back within three months. The committee would investigate reported attacks and abuses against civilians and refer anyone proven to have participated in such attacks to the judiciary. The violence in Sweida began on July 13 between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in support of the Druze. The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had longstanding tensions over land and other resources. A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week. New Syrian regime faces instability In March, hundreds of Alawite civilians were killed after government-aligned forces deployed to Syria's coastal areas following a deadly attack on new government forces by militias still aligned with Assad, who hails from the Alawite minority. Assad's brutal crackdown on protests against him in 2011 from within Syria's Sunni majority spiraled into a nearly 14-year war. Western leaders are keen to ensure the new government, led by a former Sunni Islamist group that has its roots in global jihad, conducts an orderly democratic transition. The fact-finding committee established after the March killings last month referred 298 people suspected of carrying out abuses against Alawites to the judiciary. The committee said it found no evidence of commanders ordering troops to commit violations and that 265 people had been involved in the initial attack on government forces. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Syria seeks balance in Sweida amid Druze-Bedouin clashes, Israeli strikes
As tensions rise in southern Syria, the government seeks to balance humanitarian aid with regional stability amidst Israeli strikes. In the wake of the clashes between Bedouin and Druze in the southern Syrian area of Sweida in early July, the Syrian government is seeking to balance the interests of its supporters with pragmatic moves in southern Syria. This is complex because the Syrian government is wary of provoking more airstrikes by Israel. Israel carried out strikes on Damascus in response to attacks on the Druze. Now Syria is trying to shore up support again, but Damascus knows that it is being watched closely. The Syrian Information Minister, Hamza al-Mustafa, 'reiterated that humanitarian aid convoys heading to Sweida have not stopped, expressing his hope that their delivery will not be obstructed by any outlaw group seeking to exploit the people's suffering for their own isolationist purposes,' Syrian state media said on July 28. 'Since the beginning of tragic events, humanitarian aid convoys have been trying to reach Sweida province for all those waiting for support during this difficult time', al-Mustafa wrote on social media. 'We sincerely hope that these convoys will not be obstructed by outlaws seeking to exploit our people's suffering for their own purposes,' he added. He also said the state remains committed to the people of Sweida. While Damascus is wary of Sweida, essentially viewing it as off-limits for the time being, it is focusing on other parts of southernSyria. Dara'a province is important. It is one of the places where the Syrian rebellion began in 2011. It is mostly a Sunni Arab province between Damascus and Jordan. It also borders Quneitra and the Golan. Thus, it is a key stronghold of pro-Damascus supporters that sits between Israel and the Druze, and between Damascus and Jordan. Jordan is a key regional partner of Syria and has been critical of Israel's actions in support of the Druze. Many of the people in northern Jordan are from the same Sunni Arab tribes and clans that live in southern Syria. Syrian state media SANA noted on July 27 that 'a medical team from the Syrian American Medical Association (SAMS) visited the shelter in Khirbet Ghazaleh, eastern countryside of Daraa, on Saturday and provided medical services to a number of refugees from Sweida province, as part of strengthening the health response and alleviating their suffering amid the current humanitarian conditions.' SAMS has played an important role SAMS has played a key role in Syria over the last years in support of Syrians. The report added that 'Dr. Yarub al-Zoubi, head of the Public Health Programs Department at the Health Directorate, said that the visit comes within a coordination plan between the Health Directorate and partner organizations in the health sector to secure primary care for arrivals, noting that the Directorate monitors the health conditions in shelters on a daily basis and works to support them by sending mobile teams and providing the necessary vaccines, preventive, and therapeutic services.' Syria is also doing regional outreach. It sent a team from the Defense Ministry to Turkey and also has been doing outreach to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi newspaper al-Riyadh recently wrote about the importance of Syria's restoration of its role in the Arab world. It also opposed foreign intervention in Syria. In addition, Syria recently signed an energy deal with Riyadh. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Has the humanitarian aid situation in Gaza caused a rift between Trump and Netanyahu?
A senior White House official noted that 'allies can sometimes disagree, even in a very real way.' US President Donald Trump reportedly clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the food security situation in Gaza, among other issues, the Atlantic reported on Thursday. Senior US administration officials said that Trump believes that Netanyahu has extended the war in Gaza to further his political career. They also told The Atlantic that they believe that the prime minister has repeatedly interfered with ceasefire talks. The Atlantic also reported that the administration was upset over IDF airstrikes in Syria and a strike that hit Gaza's only Catholic Church. The US president believes that these actions, alongside the international perception of the food security crisis in Gaza, are harming Trump's reported efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. Trump is willing to break with Netanyahu over the perception of the food security situation in Gaza due to his "America first" policy, namely that some in his base have warned against entering a conflict on foreign soil. This being said, the two officials expressed that they did not think that Trump would punish Netanyahu in any impactful way. A White House official told the Atlantic that 'there is no significant rupture' between the two, but that 'allies can sometimes disagree, even in a very real way.' On Monday, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) called the situation in Gaza a 'genocide.' US aides have reportedly discussed pushing Israel to dramatically increase the amount of aid that enters Gaza, so that even if some is stolen by Hamas, more than enough will find its way into the hands of civilians. Officials said that Trump sent his special envoy Steve Witkoff to Israel to assess the aid distribution situation in Gaza, including the viability of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Trump and Netanyahu reportedly split on Gaza aid Though Trump has called for Hamas to end the war, and has said that Israel needs to 'finish the job' in Gaza, he has also broken with Netanyahu's assertions that there is 'no starvation' in Gaza. 'Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry,' Trump said. 'That's real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can't fake that.' The Israel-Hamas War and Netanyahu's perceived defiance of Trump have created another major news story for the president, who is also attempting to quell discontent from his supporters regarding the Epstein files and the Ukraine-Russia War. 'He just really wants these stories to stop being on TV,' an adviser told the news site.
