Yet the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) faced significant hurdles on only its second day of operations. As Israeli troops shot over the fence to an empty distribution center, thousands of starving Palestinians were clamoring for food. The situation unfolded amidst concerns about the foundation’s capacity to manage the logistics of delivering aid to over two million people in a devastated combat zone.
Founded in spring 2022, GHF has been opaque about its funding sources, calling into doubt its operational legitimacy and capacity. The group first published images depicting boxes of aid. These boxes showcased logos from three well-known humanitarian organizations, each with decades of experience working in Gaza. This raised doubt in the minds of many people about GHF’s ability to quickly, efficiently and effectively distribute these essential lifesaving supplies.
Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in the occupied Palestinian territory, expressed apprehension regarding GHF’s activities. She highlighted the need for experienced organizations to help guide the complexities of humanitarian work in such a volatile climate.
To do so, we must acknowledge that GHF’s founding director, Jake Wood, has resigned. Specifically, he raised red flags about the foundation’s capacity to swiftly deploy aid and support. He asserted that GHF is not equipped to tackle the insurmountable demands of the majority of the population. The current lay of the land renders it unattainable.
GHF uses armed security private contractors to escort food deliveries into the compounds that are patrolled by the Israeli military. Yet despite all that organizational structure, chaos has not been avoided. Late Tuesday, GHF announced that they had distributed their 8,000th box of food, enough to feed about 44,000 people for a week and a half. Even with this accomplishment, the foundation recognized that more needs to be done to increase deliveries each day of the week.
Despite GHF’s best efforts to offer more sustainable relief, the organization drew the ire of deeply rooted humanitarian organizations. The United Nations and other large humanitarian organizations have disavowed working with GHF. They contend that joint programming would erode key humanitarian principles that are essential for reaching and assisting civilians affected by conflict.
Yet Israel seems set on trying to replace such seasoned humanitarian organizations on the ground with GHF. This shift is fraught with complications. Photos posted to social media illuminate what’s inside GHF’s aid packages. These mostly consist of paltry rations such as rice, pasta, and flour, as well as canned beans and vegetables imported from Israel.
During GHF’s first distribution, Israeli military personnel with guns drawn on the compound set off warning shots in an attempt to regain control of the situation. In a statement addressing the situation, Benjamin Netanyahu remarked:
“Happily, we brought it back under control.”
Despite these efforts, GHF’s operations remain precarious. The organization stated that its actions were conducted “in accordance with GHF protocol to avoid casualties.” They explained that the distribution process got extremely crowded very quickly. As an unintended consequence, their staff on the ground had to take a brief hiatus because they couldn’t guarantee that a small number of Palestinians would be safe to deliver humanitarian assistance to.
As the situation evolves, humanitarian experts stress the urgency of scaling up operations to avert famine and address the needs of civilians across Gaza. Stéphane Dujarric from the UN stated:
“We continue to stress that a meaningful scale-up of humanitarian operations is essential to stave off famine and meet the needs of all civilians, wherever they are.”