The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has officially ended its operations in the war-torn Gaza Strip after suspending its operations last month following the start of a ceasefire. She announced this decision on Monday. The US- and Israel-backed organization began its work in May this year, but has come under fire from the United Nations, which it says has threatened the lives of Palestinians trying to get food. TASR informs about it according to the reports of AFP, AP, CNN and the GHF website.
In short:
- The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) ended operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday
- The organization provided 187 million free meals to civilians
- The GHF has faced UN criticism for endangering Palestinian lives
“The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) today announced the successful completion of its emergency mission in Gaza after delivering more than 187 million free meals directly to civilians living in Gaza,” the group said in a statement.
Stopping GHF
“We are ending our operations because we have succeeded in fulfilling our mission and showing that there is a better way to provide aid to Gazans,” said GHF Executive Director John Acree. He also said that this organization has built a model that has saved lives and restored the dignity of civilians in Gaza.
CNN clarifies that since May 26, the GHF has distributed humanitarian aid in three locations in the south of the Gaza Strip and one location in the central part of the territory. However, her work was accompanied by chaos from the beginning, and the media reported almost daily on the deaths of people waiting for help who were shot by Israeli soldiers. The start of GHF’s work was preceded by an 11-week Israeli blockade of all aid to the Palestinian territory.
Victims and criticism from the UN
According to the UN, 2,100 Palestinians have died trying to get aid. Many of them perished near or on the way to places operated by the GHF.
The organization said on its website on Monday that it had distributed food to Palestinians “safely, efficiently and without a single case of looting or abuse” for more than four months.
Confusion about GHF
The US news agency claims that the GHF’s activities were shrouded in secrecy during its short existence. The foundation was supposed to be an alternative to the UN. It has never disclosed its sources of funding and provided little information about the armed contractors who operated the sites. Its stated goal was to deliver aid to the people of Gaza without being intercepted by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
GHF had planned to expand to several places in the Gaza Strip, but never did so, reports CNN. In October, a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas came into force and the organization suspended its operations. The main means of distributing humanitarian aid in the Palestinian enclave has become the UN again during this cease-fire.
