Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to close aid effort

The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will officially close its operations in the besieged territory, according to two Israeli sources, after suspending its work in Gaza last month at the beginning of the ceasefire.

“We are winding down our operations as we have succeeded in our mission of showing there’s a better way to deliver aid to Gazans,” said John Acree, the organization’s executive director in a statement.

The US- and Israel-backed foundation operated several sites in southern Gaza and one site in central Gaza where it began distributing humanitarian aid in late-May. But the distribution effort quickly turned into chaos, as desperate Palestinians rushed the fenced enclosures in an attempt to seize the limited food that was available.

According to the United Nations, more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid, including many who were near or en route to GHF sites.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had plans to expand to more sites across the territory, but those plans never came to fruition. GHF suspended its operations at the beginning of the ceasefire in mid-October as the US and the international community reverted to the United Nations as the primary means of distributing humanitarian aid.

GHF says it ultimately delivered more than 187 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Monday, “GHF has shared valuable lessons learned with us and our partners.”

“GHF’s model, in which Hamas could no longer loot and profit from stealing aid, played a huge role in getting Hamas to the table and achieving a ceasefire,” he said in a post on social media. “We thank them for all that they provided to Gazans.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.