The Israeli- and US-backed NGOs have announced that they are planning to begin distributing aid to the besieged Gaza.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said in a statement Monday that it plans to begin direct aid in the ruined enclave just hours after executive director Jakewood announced his resignation.
The GHF has been tapped to distribute food, medicine and other important supplies that have been blocked by Israeli forces for two months, and said it aims to provide assistance to one million Palestinians on the territory by the weekend.
The NGO has since said it plans to “scale rapidly to serve the entire population in the coming weeks.”
Israel said last week it would allow “minimal” aid delivery to Gaza. There, aid agencies warn of widespread hunger and multiple deaths from starvation, but reports suggest that the small number of supplies that entered the enclave have reached 2.3 million in Gaza’s starving population.
The UN and other aid agencies have refused to work with the GHF, warning that conditions, including requiring Palestinians to gather at concentrated aid points, put people at risk and undermine other aid efforts.
Wood announced his resignation on Sunday, citing concerns over the GHF’s independence.
The organization “we have not been able to comply with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, equity and independence, but I will not throw it away,” he said in a statement, calling for Israel to grant more assistance.
The GHF committee said in a statement that it was “disappointed” by its resignation but committed to expanding its aid efforts across the strip.
A US State Department spokesman said he continues to support NGOs.
Wood’s departure follows growing criticism of the GHF’s operational structure and independence.
The NGO, which claims to be based in Geneva since February, was born from a “personal meeting of close stakeholders, military officers and businessmen with the Israeli government,” according to the New York Times.
The UN and major humanitarian organisations raise concerns that GHF operations could undermine existing relief efforts and limit food access to limited areas of Gaza, so civilians will access aid to walk long distances and cross Israeli military lines.
There is also concern that GHF’s distribution plan, designed to prevent the US and Israel from controlling aid, could be used to advance Israeli purpose of removing northern Gaza by focusing aid in the South.
“War Weapons”
The controversy over the GHF unfolds against the backdrop of Gaza’s aggravating humanitarian catastrophe.
According to the latest Integrated Food Security Stages (IPC) report, 93% of Gaza’s population (93% of Gaza’s population) faces severe levels of food insecurity or are not enough to eat.
Aid agencies described the crisis as artificial hunger and accused Israel of using it as a weapon of war.
Robert Patman, a professor of international relations at the University of Otago in New Zealand, told Al Jazeera that Wood’s resignation reflects a lack of support from the GHF’s established humanitarian groups.
“It’s no secret that the major aid donors weren’t convinced by the proposal. It’s essentially a startup,” he said.
Patman also said many humanitarian actors have argued that “new humanitarian organizations are not needed,” and emphasized that the international community should instead focus on lifting Israeli lockdown in Gaza.
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