Debated American-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Concludes Humanitarian Work
The debated, American and Israeli-supported Gaza relief foundation announces it is winding down its aid operations in the Gaza region, following nearly half a year.
The foundation had already suspended its several relief locations in Gaza subsequent to the halt in hostilities between Palestinian factions and Israel was implemented recently.
The foundation sought to bypass the UN as the main supplier of relief to Palestinian residents.
United Nations organizations and other humanitarian groups would not collaborate with its methodology, stating it was questionable and hazardous.
Hundreds of Palestinians were killed while seeking food amid chaotic scenes near the foundation's locations, primarily from Israeli forces, according to the UN.
Israel said its troops fired alerting fire.
Mission Completion
The foundation announced on recently that it was winding down operations now because of the "effective conclusion of its humanitarian effort", with a cumulative three million shipments containing the corresponding to over 187 million food portions delivered to Palestinians.
The GHF's executive director, the foundation leader, further mentioned the American-directed Civil-Military Coordination Center - which has been established to help execute US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan - would be "adopting and expanding the approach the organization demonstrated".
"The organization's system, in which militant groups were prevented from misappropriating relief supplies, was significantly influential in getting Hamas to the table and establishing a truce."
Comments and Positions
The Palestinian faction - which refutes aid diversion claims - supported the shutdown of the aid organization, as indicated by media.
A spokesman for said the organization should be made responsible for the negative impact it created to Gazans.
"We urge all global human rights groups to guarantee that responsibility is assigned after resulting in fatalities and harm of numerous Palestinians and covering up the nutritional restriction approach employed by the Israeli government."
Organization Timeline
The foundation started work in Gaza on 26 May, a week after Israel had partially eased a complete restriction on relief and commercial goods to Gaza that lasted 11 weeks and resulted in critical deficits of essential supplies.
After 90 days, a famine was declared in Gaza City.
The foundation's nourishment distribution centers in southern and central Gaza were operated by American private security firms and located inside areas controlled by Israeli forces.
Humanitarian Concerns
International organizations and their affiliates stated the methodology violated the core assistance standards of neutrality, impartiality and independence, and that guiding distressed residents into armed forces regions was fundamentally dangerous.
International human rights monitoring body stated it documented the killing of at least 859 Palestinians trying to acquire sustenance in the vicinity of GHF sites between 26 May and 31 July.
Another 514 people were fatally wounded around the routes of UN and other aid convoys, it further stated.
Most of them were killed by the Israel's armed forces, as per the organization's documentation.
Conflicting Accounts
Israeli defense forces claimed its forces had fired warning shots at people who approached them in a "menacing" way.
The foundation stated there were no shootings at the distribution centers and claimed the international organization of using "inaccurate and deceptive" statistics from the Gazan medical department controlled by militant factions.
Subsequent Developments
The organization's continuation had been unclear since Hamas and Israel agreed a ceasefire deal to implement the initial stage of the United States' reconciliation proposal.
It said humanitarian assistance would take place "absent meddling from the both sides through the United Nations and its agencies, and the international relief society, in addition to other international institutions not linked whatsoever" with Hamas and Israel.
UN spokesperson the UN spokesman said on Monday that the organization's termination would have "zero effect" on its operations "since we never collaborated with them".
The official further mentioned that while increased relief was entering the region since the halt in hostilities began on 10 October, it was "not enough to meet all the needs" of the 2.1 million population.