The US-backed new aid distribution system in Gaza has turned into a disaster. At least 10 Palestinians were killed and 48 injured, after Israeli forces opened fire at a crowd gathered there to collect food.
Videos circulating online showed a massive crowed scrambling for food at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation guarded by Israeli forces and the US armed contractors in the southern city of Rafah.
As the killing of starving Palestinians invited global condemnation, the US -backed foundation refuted these allegations, saying that it had distributed over 8,000 food boxes.
After the incident, the group said that it has formulated an alternative plan to distribute aid in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the US has distanced itself from the GHF’s operations and refused to comment on how the centre will expand the aid delivery operations in the northern Gaza.
The group has only 4 operational aid delivery centres in South Gaza.
But the human rights groups have claimed that the move is strategic: to force Palestinians in the north move to the southern Gaza. Remember, Israel had expressed its plans to take control of the northern Gaza and create a military infrastructure there.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was created by Israel and US to bypass the UN aid organization. Israel had said that it wanted to control of food distribution in Gaza and stop Hamas from allegedly stealing the aid. But Hamas has denied these allegations.
Origins of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
According to the Geneva commercial registry, the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was established in February in Switzerland. The group was approved by Israel to take over aid distribution in Gaza. Israel has said it will facilitate the group’s work without being involved in aid deliveries.
The aid agency has claimed that it has more than $100 million in aid pledges from the European governments, but has not named the donor. The US and Israel, however, have said they are not funding it.
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Israel wants the UN to work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But the UN aid agency and other humanitarian groups working in Gaza have rejected the idea, saying that the agency is not neutral.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's financing, plans and its relations with Israel remain obscure. A number of executives and board members refuted links with the group, while many have stepped down.
Also, a Switzerland-based NGO, Trial International, is seeking a probe into the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Trial International said it has approached the Swiss authorities to investigate whether the Swiss-registered foundation complies with the domestic and international humanitarian laws.
Swiss authorities have said they were exploring whether to open a legal investigation into the group’s activities.
The demand for a legal investigation into the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation comes amid allegations that the new distribution plan will weaponize aid for Israeli military purposes.
The UN and other humanitarian organizations have questioned the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's efficiency.
UN officials said that the Israel and US-backed group has no prior experience working in a famine-hit area and won't be able to meet the needs of 2.3 million Gazans.
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