The head of a new aid program for Gaza backed by the US and Israel has resigned after weeks of controversy, citing concerns over impartiality and urging Israel to allow more aid into the blockaded enclave.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is meant to run a new, tightly controlled, mechanism for aid deliveries into Gaza but has been criticized by the United Nations and others, who warn it risks further displacing Palestinians and endangering civilians.
US military veteran Jake Wood has quit as GHF’s executive director after just a matter of weeks at the organization, publicly launched by the US in early May.
“I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people, address security concerns about diversion, and complement the work of longstanding NGOs in Gaza,” said Wood in a statement.
“However, it is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon,” he added.
The GHF’s plan for delivering aid has been approved by Israel and the US, which both countries say is designed to prevent Hamas from “stealing” aid.
It’s supposed to start operating four distribution sites before the end of May, all located in southern and central Gaza – but it has come under heavy criticism from top humanitarian officials, with the UN and other organizations refusing to work with the new group.
The UN warned that the fact the initial sites were only in southern and central Gaza could be seen as encouraging Israel’s publicly stated goal of forcing “the entire Gazan population” out of northern Gaza, as Defense Minister Israel Katz put it earlier this month.
The US and the GHF have both been at pains to say that it is not an Israeli initiative – despite Israel’s support for it, and its role in designating and securing the distribution sites.
Speaking to CNN earlier in May, Wood had urged the UN and other groups to reconsider their opposition, admitting that the plan was “not perfect” but would allow critical aid and food supplies to Gazans who desperately need it.
He added in May that he “unequivocally… will not be a part of anything that forcibly dislocates or displaces the Palestinian population.”
In his resignation statement on Sunday, he said he had sought to establish the foundation “as a truly independent humanitarian entity” during his time as its executive director.
Wood, said he was “horrified and heartbroken at the hunger crisis in Gaza” and was “compelled to do whatever I could to help alleviate the suffering.”
“I urge Israel to significantly expand the provision of aid into Gaza through all mechanisms, and I urge all stakeholders to continue to explore innovative new methods for the delivery of aid, without delay, diversion, or discrimination,” Wood said.
The GHF is only expected to be able to feed about 60% of Gaza’s population in its first weeks. A private American security contractor will be responsible for guarding its aid trucks from the Gaza border to the distribution sites and will not be involved in distributing the aid to civilians, Wood had previously said.
Starvation in Gaza
His resignation comes as Gaza faces widespread starvation amid a severe shortage of essential humanitarian aid. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has recorded 58 deaths from malnutrition and 242 deaths from shortages of food and medicine since Israel’s blockade on aid began in March, it said.
More than 300 miscarriages had been attributed to a lack of nutrients, the ministry told CNN on Sunday.
Last week, Israel said it would allow a “basic amount of food” to enter Gaza due to an “operational need” as the military pushes ahead with its offensive, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.” The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has said a hunger crisis in Gaza could jeopardize the operation, which Israel says aims to defeat Hamas.
Ahmad Al-Banna, who owns a bakery in Deir al-Balah in Gaza, told CNN Sunday that he had reopened on Wednesday, only to close three days later, because flour stocks had run out.
“Gaza is exhausted,” he said. “There are starving people in the streets.”
Another resident, Um Jamal Musleh, said she and her two children relied on the local charity-run kitchen. “Today, we were shocked to see a sign saying it’s the last day for the kitchen. That means we’ll go hungry,” she said.
Asmaa Al-Kafarneh, who was waiting at the kitchen on Sunday, said she had not eaten bread in two months. “If we don’t die from Israeli airstrikes, we’ll die of hunger,” she said.
Israel said it allowed 107 aid trucks into the territory on Sunday – but the UN has said that’s not nearly enough.
The enclave needs at least 500 to 600 trucks daily as civilians face a severe shortage of supplies like food and medicine, said UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza. The UN has also complained that Israel has insisted on humanitarian aid traveling along insecure routes, preventing many aid trucks from safely arriving at their destinations.
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