The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the controversial American organization commissioned by Israel to distribute food in the Strip from May until the October ceasefire, announced this Monday the cessation of operations in the Palestinian enclave.
“At a critical moment, the US-led emergency relief mission helped lay the groundwork for the ceasefire and the future of Gaza,” the GHF said in a statement.
The GHF is an American non-profit organization, made up of former US military, private security companies and humanitarian operatorsbut the UN highlighted months ago that it was not working according to the principles of international humanitarian law and His methods caused hundreds of deaths in Gaza.
Since the organization landed in Gaza, with three operations centers in the south and another in the center of the Strip – which replaced 200 UN distribution points – the distribution quickly became chaoswith Palestinians crowding the facilities to get food and constant scenes in which they were violently repelled.
This chaos was shown in a situation of blockage of the entry of aid to Gaza by Israel, which was total from March until the GHF began to act in May, an organization that did not cover the needs of the Gazans, which led to a situation of famine declared this summer by an organization endorsed by the UN.
Since the Israeli offensive following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, more than 2,100 Palestinians have died while seeking humanitarian aid, including those near or en route to GHF centers, according to the United Nations.
“With the creation of the Civil-Military Coordination Center for Gaza and a renewed commitment from the international humanitarian community, the GHF believes the time has come to cease operations,” GHF Executive Director John Acree concluded in the statement.
Desperation and death in the distributions
This Monday, the entity also released a report on the impact of its work in Gaza to which, despite the episodes of desperation and death in the deliveries, described as a “record”.
“In response to the call of President Donald Trump In order for aid to reach the people of Gaza directly, the GHF built a new model from scratch: secure sites, verified local staff, disciplined operations and direct delivery to civilians without interference from Hamas or other actors,” the organization added.
According to their calculations, since they established themselves at the end of May, they distributed in the Stripto more than 3 million boxes of food, with a total of 187 million meals; delivering more than 5,600 tons of potatoes and 1,300 tons of onions; as well as 1.1 million food supplements for malnourished children.
However, because it emerged as a substitute for the humanitarian work carried out by the United Nations, which the Israeli government repeatedly accused of colluding with Hamas militias, There is no transparent way to verify the data provided.
The GHF recognizes in its statement this Monday that They arrived as a “temporary initiative” and that they had “plans to expand to more centers,” but they decided to suspend their operations in mid-October – after the last ceasefire – when the US and the international community returned humanitarian tasks to the different UN agencies.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on November 22, its latest update on the situation in Gaza, that “all UN missions intended to collect aid shipments at the Kerem Shalom crossing were denied access” on that day.
After its announcement, the Trump administration praised his work and gave him some of the credit for the ceasefire. “The GHF model, in which Hamas could no longer loot or profit by stealing aid, was key for the group to sit at the negotiating table and reach a ceasefire. We appreciate everything they contributed to the Gazan people,” State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggot declared on social media.