Madrid, November 24 (European Press) –
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial aid model backed by Israel and the United States, announced Monday that it had ended its operations in the Strip, as part of a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave, although its deployment was marked by hundreds of people being shot dead by Israeli forces as they tried to obtain food.
Thus, it announced the “successful conclusion of its emergency mission in Gaza after providing more than 187 million free meals directly to civilians living in Gaza, a record humanitarian operation that ensured that food aid reached Palestinian families safely and without being diverted to Hamas or other entities,” as stated in a statement published on its website.
John Acree, chief executive of the GHF, has claimed that his aim “from the beginning” was “to address a pressing need, demonstrate that a new approach can succeed where others have failed, and ultimately communicate this success to the wider international community”. In fact, he confirmed that they had built a “new model from scratch” after US President Donald Trump requested that aid reach the civilian population directly.
“At this critical time, we are proud to be the only aid operation that has reliably and safely provided free meals directly to the Palestinian population of Gaza, on a large scale and without diversion. From the first day of our operations, our mission has been unique: to feed the civilian population with urgent needs. We have built a new model that has worked, saved lives and restored dignity to the civilian population of Gaza,” he said, making a veiled criticism of UN agencies.
In this sense, it highlighted that it had distributed, in addition to 187 million meals, 1.1 million ready-to-eat supplementary food packages for malnourished children, and that it had established distribution methods that prioritized vulnerable sectors of society: women, children and the elderly. All this is under the supervision of an American team of humanitarian professionals, former military personnel, as well as local workers.
Moreover, he stressed that his goal was to open more aid distribution points, and criticized the refusal of other “traditional” relief organizations to cooperate with them. Finally, it confirmed that it would not be dissolved as a registered NGO and that it would remain willing to reorganize itself if new humanitarian needs were identified.
The United States applauds the work of GHF
From Washington, Deputy Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomas Piggott, confirmed this through a message he posted on his personal page on the social networking site
He said: “GHF has shared valuable lessons learned with us and our partners. The GHF model, in which Hamas can no longer plunder or profit by stealing aid, was essential for them to come to the negotiating table and achieve a ceasefire. We thank them for what they provided for the people of Gaza.”