Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to cease operations after ceasefire
The GHF's work was praised by the US State Department, but criticised by the UN
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GFH) has announced that it will conclude its operations in the Strip, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which took place last month.
GHF, which had backing from both the US and Israel, began operating in late May, and was intended to be an alternative food distribution source from the programme led by the UN, which had been accused of having its shipments regularly taken by Hamas, cementing its continued control of the Strip. It was bitterly criticised by the UN, who refused to work with it to bring aid into Gaza.
In a statement on its website, the group said it had “delivered 187 million free meals directly to civilians in Gaza – safely, efficiently, and without a single instance of looting or diversion.”
Hamas-controlled ministries within Gaza claimed that hundreds of Palestinians were killed while seeking aid from the GHF’s food depots – claims subsequently repeated by the UN, as well as a significant number of international news organisations. The IDF said that its troops had fired warning shots when Palestinians ventured into restricted zones.
Tommy Piggott, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said that “GHF’s model, in which Hamas could no longer loot and profit from stealing aid, played a huge role in getting Hamas to the table and achieving a ceasefire.”
By contrast, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that the GHF’s shutdown would have “no impact” on its operations “because we never worked with them”.
He went on to state that while more aid had been distributed in Gaza since the ceasefire took place on 10 October, it was still “not enough to meet all the needs” of the Strip’s 2.1 million inhabitants.
John Acree, GHF’s Executive Director, praised the work of the organisation, saying: “We built an alternative model that worked – one that saved lives and restored dignity to civilians in Gaza.”
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