Gaza Relief Foundation: Aid Distribution Today

Gaza Relief Foundation: Aid Distribution Today

 Gaza Relief Foundation to Begin Aid Distribution Today

Gaza Relief Foundation Director Resigns Due to Lack of Independence; Foundation Announces: Aid Distribution Will Reach One Million Palestinians in Gaza by the End of This Week

Gaza Relief Foundation, a private organization supported by the United States and Israel and tasked with distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza, said it will begin delivering aid to the besieged enclave on Monday. The organization added in a statement, after its director resigned, citing the organization's lack of independence, that "we plan to rapidly expand to serve the entire population of the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks."

Jake Wood, a former US Marine and executive director of Gaza Relief for the past two months, said in a statement that he resigned because the organization could not adhere to "the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon."

Some humanitarian aid began entering Gaza in recent days after Israel bowed to international pressure after blocking its entry since early March. A global hunger watchdog warned that half a million people are facing famine, equivalent to a quarter of the population of the Gaza Strip, where Israel and Hamas have been waging a war since October 2023.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, a charge the movement denies, and is blocking humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining detainees it captured during its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Gaza Relief Foundation, established in February, has been heavily criticized by the United Nations, whose officials said the organization's aid distribution plans would only fuel the forced displacement of Palestinians and further violence.

This plan, which was scheduled to begin by the end of May, was already being implemented by Israel. It involves private companies, rather than the UN and aid organizations that have been distributing aid to Palestinians for decades, transporting aid to Gaza to a limited number of so-called safe distribution sites, which Israel said would be located in southern Gaza.

Earlier this month, Wood wrote to Israel stating that the organization would not share any personal information about aid recipients with Israel. Wood also asked Israel to facilitate the flow of sufficient aid "using existing methods" until the organization's infrastructure is fully operational. He wrote that this is necessary to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure and to ease the pressure on distribution sites during the organization's first days of operation.