Washington, United States – A controversial US-backed aid group for Gaza announced Monday that it had begun distributing food in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, and decried Hamas “death threats” against organizations supporting its operations.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day.”
The organization, based in Geneva since February, has promised to distribute some 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation.
The announcement came as Israel is facing global condemnation over the conditions in Gaza.
A nearly three-month total blockade on Gaza has only begun to ease in recent days, amid warnings of looming famine.
The United Nations and international aid agencies have meanwhile said they will not cooperate with the GHF, amid accusations it is working with Israel while lacking any Palestinian involvement.
UN officials have raised concerns that the organization could be used to “weaponize” aid by restricting who is eligible to receive it.
GHF said Hamas was striving to block its operations.
It condemned “in the strongest terms Hamas’s death threats targeting aid groups supporting humanitarian operations at GHF’s Safe Distribution Sites, and efforts to block the Gazan people from accessing aid at the sites.”
“It is clear that Hamas is threatened by this new operating model, and will do everything in its power to see it fail,” it said.
While stressing its “non-negotiable” dedication to the safety and security of aid workers and civilians, GHF insisted “these threats will not deter us.”
“We are taking every measure to ensure secure operations and will continue working with trusted partners to deliver aid with integrity.”
The group is meanwhile facing internal turmoil.
In a statement on Sunday, GHF’s executive director for the past two months, Jake Wood, said he felt compelled to leave after determining the organization could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to humanitarian principles.
He said it had become “clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”
On Monday, the GHF announced it had named John Acree interim Executive Director, hailing his “more than two decades of global field experience in disaster response, stabilization programming and civil-military coordination.”
