The United States has approved $30 million in direct funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial Israel-backed group delivering aid in Gaza.
Despite growing concerns over deadly attacks on Palestinian aid seekers near its distribution hubs, the US State Department has expressed support for the group’s critical work. “We call on other countries to also support the GHF… and its critical work,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters.
The GHF has faced widespread criticism since its establishment in May, with international aid groups and the United Nations refusing to work with the organization due to its coordination with Israeli troops backed by privately hired and armed US security personnel.
At least 549 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food aid distributed at GHF sites, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. “There was nothing but death,” said Atar Riyad, a father of eight who witnessed the deadly conditions firsthand.
GHF’s interim executive director, John Acree, welcomed the US contribution, saying it was “time for unity and collaboration”. He added, “We look forward to other aid and humanitarian organizations joining us so we can feed even more Gazans, together.”
However, human rights lawyer Kate Mackintosh warned that GHF workers could bear criminal liability for the killings of aid seekers near the group’s distribution points. “Firing upon people in that situation prima facie is a war crime,” she said.
The funding approval comes amid reports of Israeli strikes on Gaza, which have killed hundreds of Palestinians, including aid seekers. In one incident, an Israeli strike hit a street in central Gaza, killing 18 people who had gathered to receive bags of flour from a Palestinian police unit.
The unit had confiscated the goods from gangs looting aid convoys. The situation in Gaza remains dire, with the UN reporting an uptick in preventable diseases due to the Israeli blockade.