The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), after halting its operations in Gaza at the start of the ceasefire last month, has announced it will officially end its operations in the besieged area, according to the organization’s director and two Israeli officials.
“We are scaling back our operations because we have succeeded in our mission to show that there is a better way to deliver aid to Gazans,” GHF Executive Director John Ackley said in a statement.
An Israeli source, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed the organization’s plans to end its operations before Ackley confirmed it.
The foundation, backed by the United States and Israel, operates multiple sites in southern Gaza and one in central Gaza and began distributing humanitarian aid in late May. But the distribution effort soon descended into chaos as desperate Palestinians rushed into the fenced enclosures to snatch the limited food supplies.
According to the United Nations, more than 2,100 Palestinians seeking aid were killed, including those near or en route to GHF strongholds.
GHF had plans to expand to more locations across the territory, but those plans never materialized. The foundation ceased operations at the start of the ceasefire in mid-October, as the United States and the international community returned to the United Nations as the primary vehicle for distributing humanitarian aid.
GHF announced that it had ultimately delivered more than 187 million meals to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The GHF was initially established to replace the UN role in Gaza, in response to Israel’s request that aid not reach Hamas. Israel has accused Palestinian militants of stealing the aid, but an internal U.S. government investigation found no evidence of widespread theft by Hamas.
GHF will work with the Israel Defense Forces, but said security will be provided by private military contractors. The United Nations refused to participate in the GHF operation due to concerns about its lack of independence from the United States and Israel and the increased danger to Palestinians.
The number of GHF distribution points in southern and central Gaza is far fewer than the hundreds under the UN’s previous model, forcing large crowds of starving Palestinians to congregate in limited areas.
Palestinian authorities and witnesses also accused Israeli forces of shooting dead dozens of civilians near one of the GHF’s support sites in Rafah, southern Gaza, over several days in June.
A CNN investigation into one of these deadly incidents showed that Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians who were trying to obtain food.
Reactions to GHF’s closure have been mixed.
“GHF has been sharing valuable lessons learned with us and our partners,” U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesman Tommy Piggott said Monday.
“The GHF model, which prevented Hamas from profiting from looting and theft of aid supplies, played a major role in bringing Hamas to the negotiating table and achieving a ceasefire,” he said in a social media post. “Thank you for everything they have provided for the Gazans.”
But Hamas welcomed the closure of the GHF, saying it was a “natural step” for a project that “planned starvation” in cooperation with Israel.
“Since entering the Strip, the organization has formed part of the security apparatus of the occupation forces, through the adoption of distribution mechanisms that have nothing to do with humanitarianism and the creation of dangerous situations that undermine the dignity of hungry Palestinians seeking to obtain a morsel of bread,” Hamas said in a press release on Monday. It called on international legal bodies to hold the GHF accountable for its “crimes” against Palestinians.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
