The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has confirmed to JNS that updated regulations require it to exclusively source goods produced by Israeli companies for the food packages it distributes in the Gaza Strip.
“Until recently, GHF’s food items were procured and packaged in both Israel and the West Bank,” a spokesperson for the foundation told JNS on Aug. 5.
However, “new Israeli regulations mandate that all food items going into Gaza must be procured and packaged inside Israel, and we are abiding by that requirement,” the statement continued, noting that GHF also distributed “significant quantities” of aid for other groups.
These partners wish to remain anonymous due to Hamas threats, it said.
According to a July report by Israel’s Ynet news outlet, the GHF meal packages consist of “products from leading Israeli brands, that can be found in almost every Israeli home.” However, “to cover their tracks,” the GHF puts stickers on them, suggesting that the supplies had been sourced from an Arab Israeli company based in the Negev Desert.
The GHF denied the report, telling JNS via email on July 16: “We have sourced food items from both Israel and the West Bank and do not put stickers on products to hide their origin,” adding that the Ynet report was “false.”
JNS sought comment from some of Israel’s biggest food producers and retailers, including Shufersal, Osem, Tnuva, Strauss, Tiv Ta’am, Diplomat Group and Angel Bakeries, none of which responded by the time of publication on Friday.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office repeatedly declined to comment on the matter, while the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) did not respond to several JNS requests.
On Thursday, the PMO again declined to comment when asked to confirm the new regulations or why they were put in place. A PMO spokesman also declined to say how the Israeli companies that supply GHF were being paid.
Jerusalem has long denied funding the GHF. However, last month, Ynet reported that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had spearheaded a Cabinet decision to transfer $50 million to the foundation, reportedly as a bullet loan.
Cabinet sources said the decision came amid warnings that the aid organization could soon run out of funds.
A spokesperson for Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s office told JNS only that the minister “voted against the aid.”
In June, the U.S. State Department announced funding of $30 million to GHF and called on other countries to support the private endeavor.
Israel and the United States installed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation four months ago to handle food aid deliveries so that they directly reach Palestinian civilians, bypassing Hamas. Since launching its operations on May 26, it has distributed some 167 million meals.
