Disputed US-backed Gaza Relief Group Concludes Aid Operations

Aid activities in the region
The GHF had halted its relief locations in Gaza following the halt in hostilities was implemented last month

The controversial, US and Israel-backed GHF aid organization announces it is winding down its aid operations in the Palestinian territory, after almost six months.

The foundation had already suspended its several relief locations in Gaza after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was implemented recently.

The foundation sought to bypass the UN as the chief distributor of aid to Gaza's population.

International relief agencies refused to co-operate with its methodology, claiming it was questionable and hazardous.

Numerous Gazans were lost their lives while trying to acquire nourishment amid disorderly situations near the organization's distribution points, mostly by Israeli fire, based on UN documentation.

Israel said its troops fired warning shots.

Program Termination

The organization declared on the beginning of the week that it was concluding activities now because of the "satisfactory fulfillment of its humanitarian effort", with a aggregate of 3 million parcels containing the corresponding to over 187 million food portions delivered to Palestinians.

The organization's top administrator, Jon Acree, further mentioned the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) - which has been set up to help execute the American administration's Gaza initiative - would be "adopting and expanding the system the foundation tested".

"The foundation's approach, in which Hamas could no longer loot and profit from stealing aid, played a huge role in convincing militant groups to participate and achieving a ceasefire."

Comments and Positions

Hamas - which denies stealing aid - approved the termination of the humanitarian foundation, as indicated by media.

A spokesman for declared the foundation should be held accountable for the harm it caused to local residents.

"We urge all worldwide humanitarian bodies to guarantee that responsibility is assigned after resulting in fatalities and harm of numerous Palestinians and covering up the starvation policy employed by the Israeli authorities."

Foundation History

The GHF began operations in Gaza on 26 May, a week after Israeli authorities had somewhat relaxed a total blockade on aid and commercial deliveries to Gaza that lasted 11 weeks and led to substantial deficiencies of vital resources.

Three months later, a nutritional emergency was proclaimed in the Palestinian urban center.

The GHF's food distribution sites in the southern and middle regions of Gaza were operated by American private security firms and situated within areas controlled by Israeli forces.

Humanitarian Concerns

The UN and its partners said the approach contravened the fundamental humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, and that directing needy individuals into militarised zones was intrinsically hazardous.

The UN's human rights office reported it tracked the killing of at least 859 Palestinians attempting to obtain nourishment in the area surrounding organization centers between late May through end of July.

Another 514 people were fatally wounded around the paths taken by United Nations and additional relief shipments, it added.

Most of them were lost their lives due to the Israel's armed forces, based on the agency's reports.

Conflicting Accounts

The Israeli military claimed its forces had fired warning shots at people who approached them in a "menacing" way.

The GHF said there were no firearm incidents at the aid sites and claimed the international organization of using "false and misleading" statistics from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Subsequent Developments

The GHF's future had been unclear since militant groups and the Israeli government approved a truce agreement to execute the primary segment of the American administration's peace initiative.

The agreement stated aid distribution would take place "absent meddling from the both sides through the international bodies and their affiliates, and the international relief society, in combination with other international institutions not associated in any manner" with Hamas and Israel.

United Nations representative the UN spokesman said on Monday that the GHF's shutdown would have "no influence" on its activities "since we never collaborated with them".

The official further mentioned that while additional assistance was reaching the Palestinian territory since the halt in hostilities began on October 10th, it was "not enough to meet all the needs" of the 2.1 million residents.

Heather Terry
Heather Terry

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