A day after the Associated Press reported that the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was being shuttered, the GHF issued a denial.
Following Monday’s release of the last 20 living hostages held in Gaza, GHF Executive Director John Acree said the “moment represents a long-awaited step toward peace and a measure of justice for those who have suffered for far too long.”
Regarding the future of the embattled humanitarian aid delivery agency, which was stood up in May as an alternative to the scandal-plagued United Nations, Acree said, “Throughout this period of transition, GHF will continue making tactical adjustments to our operations. These short-term adjustments do not alter our long-term plans or mission.”
Acree said, “The GHF commitment remains the same: to deliver aid consistently and directly to as many families in Gaza as possible, for however long it takes.”
The AP cited an Egyptian official and a second regional official in reporting on Sunday that the GHF was being shut down, with witnesses in Gaza claiming that three of the four GHF aid distribution sites had been abandoned.
One of the sites is in the Netzarim area of central Gaza, from where Israeli troops pulled out on Friday under the terms of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The Israel Defense Forces is set to withdraw from Rafah, home to the three other GHF sites, in a subsequent phase of the ceasefire.
The “overarching idea” of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan “is that Hamas will be effectively dismantled and the looting of U.N.-delivered aid will be substantially reduced or eliminated as hostilities come to an end,” a U.S. official previously told JNS.
That would “eliminate the need for the GHF,” leading to its eventual closure of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to the Trump administration official. The foundation “was never meant to be around forever but to be a solution to the problem of mass theft of aid,” the official said.
But the foundation wouldn’t shutter right away, according to the U.S. official.
The United Nations would have to show that it could handle the large volume of aid, the official told JNS. Israeli officials have released photos and videos documenting hundreds of aid trucks waiting inside Gaza for the global body to retrieve and deliver.
‘Nobody really knows’
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for António Guterres, the U.N. secretary-general, told JNS last Wednesday that the global body’s understanding of the Trump plan is that “it would be the United Nations that would be the main conduit for humanitarian aid.”
JNS asked if Dujarric’s understanding is that the foundation would cease operation.
“I think the straight answer is that nobody really knows,” he said. “If you say the United Nations will be the primary conduit for humanitarian aid, it doesn’t mean, and it’s never meant, that it’s a monopoly.” (JNS sought comment from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.)
The United Nations hasn’t “heard much” from the foundation on the subject, according to Dujarric.
The U.N. spokesman questioned how the foundation would operate “with the armed guards that they have” once Israel withdraws its troops, as the Trump plan calls for the Jewish state to do in phases.
“All of a sudden, you would have these armed mercenaries, whatever they are, operating in an area without any Israeli military control,” Dujarric told JNS. “That’s a whole other set of logistical, legal or whatever problems.”
“Let’s be honest,” he said. “The GHF can only operate, in my mind, under an Israeli security umbrella.”
Dujarric added that the Trump administration official’s suggestion to JNS that the foundation would cease operations “would actually seem to be a pretty logical line.”
The foundation, which began operating in May, was awarded a $30 million U.S. State Department grant, although it wasn’t clear how much, if any, of that funding was delivered or used.
The U.S.-backed group says that it has delivered more than 183 million meals to Gazans using a centralized system. It said that it plans to expand the number of sites and operating hours.
The United Nations has largely declined to work with the foundation, stating that it operates outside the principles of humanitarian aid. Critics have alleged that Israeli troops protecting areas near foundation distribution sites have fired on aid seekers. Israel has denied those charges in strong terms. One boy seeking aid was found alive after Israel was accused of killing him.
The U.S. president’s peace plan states that aid distribution in Gaza is to proceed “through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party.”
The foundation called the peace agreement “welcome news” following its announcement last Wednesday.
“Since May 27, our team has served the people of Gaza each day, delivering lifesaving food and aid to mothers, families and children,” it said. “We are hopeful that this will create conditions on the ground that enable the needs of all Gazans to be met.
“We remain committed to supporting the people of Gaza with hope, dignity and trust, and are eager to work alongside all those who share this mission,” the GHF said.
