The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial aid organisation backed by the United States and Israel, has announced it will permanently cease all operations in July. The group, which was established as an alternative to United Nations aid programmes, stated it had successfully demonstrated a new model for delivering assistance to Gazans.
Aid Distribution and Mounting Casualties
According to an investigation by Sky News' Data and Forensics team, the GHF's operations were associated with a stark and troubling trend. The analysis found that aid distributions by the GHF correlated with a significant increase in deaths at the sites.
Witness accounts and videos circulated on social media depicted Israeli soldiers repeatedly opening fire near the distribution points, resulting in hundreds of fatalities. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has consistently denied these allegations, stating earlier this year that its troops only fired warning shots as a measure for crowd control or when they perceived their lives to be in immediate danger.
The aid group began its work in Gaza following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade on food deliveries. However, its model was heavily criticised by Palestinians, independent aid workers, and health officials. They argued that the GHF's methods forced desperate civilians to risk their lives simply to reach the aid distribution sites.
International Condemnation and GHF's Defence
The criticism was not limited to local voices. The renowned medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) released a damning report in August. It described the GHF sites as having "morphed into a laboratory of cruelty" and characterised the scenes there as "orchestrated killing."
In stark contrast, the GHF's executive director, John Acree, presented a triumphant narrative. In a statement issued via the foundation's website, Mr Acree declared, "We are proud to have been the only aid operation that reliably and safely provided free meals directly to Palestinian people in Gaza."
He asserted that the GHF had succeeded in its mission to prove there was a better way to deliver aid and would be winding down its activities. According to the GHF's own records, the organisation distributed more than three million food boxes, amounting to 187 million meals, and supplied 1.1 million packs of nutritional food for malnourished children.
Reactions to the Closure and Lasting Impact
The militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, welcomed the news of the GHF's closure. In an official statement, a Hamas spokesperson accused the foundation of being a project that "engineered starvation" in partnership with Israel. They called for international legal bodies to hold the GHF and its officers accountable for what they described as crimes against the Palestinian people.
The GHF had already suspended its aid distributions on the ground after a US-brokered ceasefire plan was agreed upon by Hamas and Israel in October. The foundation is now set to hand over its remaining operations to the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre in Israel, which is overseeing the ceasefire.
A US State Department deputy spokesperson, Tommy Piggot, commented on the social media platform X, stating that the GHF had shared valuable lessons. He added that the GHF's model, which prevented Hamas from allegedly looting and profiting from aid, played a huge role in compelling Hamas to negotiate and agree to a ceasefire.
