The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a newly established U.S. and Israel-backed aid organization, recently began making deliveries in Gaza Strip with initial deliveries starting this week. But its initiative has met with much skepticism among Palestinians as well as international aid groups that question its accessibility, neutrality and motivations for operation (ynetnews/The Guardian/BBC).
GHF announced on Monday that truckloads of food had arrived to its “Secure Distribution Sites” in Gaza and started dispensing aid packages weighing up to 20 kilograms each, including food and basic hygiene items, directly into local populations across Gaza. By week’s end, GHF plans on reaching over one million Palestinians with its aid packages distributed primarily in southern Gaza under Israeli military control with four hubs centralized at four hubs under private contractor security for delivery in four hubs located mostly under military control but secured by private contractors armed by private contractors (BBC +1 The Guardian +8) while AP News +8 umplut The Times of Israel +8
Critics of GHF’s approach, including several humanitarian organizations and UN aid chief Tom Fletcher have voiced strong disapproval. Critics argue that its centralized distribution model forces displaced Palestinians to access aid by crossing military-controlled zones which may cause further displacement and hardship; UN aid chief Fletcher cautioned that its plan could make starvation “a bargaining chip”, restrict aid distribution only in one part of Gaza and deny aid to other parts of Gaza altogether (Washington Post +2; Guardian +2, AP News +2 and BBC = Wikipedia +1).
Jake Wood, the Executive Director of Global Humanitarian Fund (GHF), unexpectedly resigned just days before aid deliveries began due to concerns over its ability to uphold humanitarian principles such as neutrality, impartiality and independence. Wood’s resignation has raised more questions over GHF operations and objectives and intensified scrutiny by press outlets like Reuters +16 The Times + 16 Al Jazeera.
Palestinian authorities and residents have expressed fears that GHF’s aid distribution may serve as a tool for population control and displacement, particularly given the requirement of biometric identification at distribution sites and their proximity to Israeli military positions. Some Palestinians fear accepting aid from GHF could be perceived as collaboration with Israeli forces and lead to social stigma or even retribution from them, according to ElHuffPost reports.
Gaza remains in dire humanitarian straits, as an ongoing blockade has led to severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel. Only some health centers operated by UNRWA remain open while essential medical supplies have become severely depleted.
GHF faces an uphill struggle in winning over both Palestinians and humanitarian organizations in its aid distribution effort, as it attempts to win their trust and maintain it over time. Effectiveness and ethical implications will likely remain under close scrutiny over time.
Situation reflects the difficulty in providing humanitarian aid in conflict zones, where efforts to alleviate suffering are frequently complicated by political and military considerations.