The United States says it has approved $30m in direct funding for the controversial Israel-backed group delivering aid in Gaza, despite growing concern over a series of deadly attacks on Palestinian aid seekers near its distribution hubs in the besieged territory.
“We call on other countries to also support the GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and its critical work,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters on Thursday.
The GHF, backed by the US and Israel, has been a source of widespread criticism since its establishment in May. The organisation was set up amid growing pressure on Israel to ease its months-long total blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Strip. The blockade had pushed most of Gaza’s population to the brink of starvation.
International aid groups and the United Nations have refused to work with the GHF, saying it violates basic humanitarian principles by coordinating delivery with Israeli troops backed by privately hired and armed US security personnel.
Video clips have emerged showing Palestinians being shot at while trying to collect food aid.
At least 549 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food aid distributed at GHF sites, the Gaza Government Media Office said on Thursday. The GHF, which is officially a private group, has denied that deadly incidents have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.
The GHF’s interim executive director, John Acree, welcomed the US contribution and said it was “time for unity and collaboration”.
“We look forward to other aid and humanitarian organizations joining us so we can feed even more Gazans, together,” he said in a statement.
Asked about the criticism of the operation, Pigott said the group has distributed 46 million meals so far, which is “absolutely incredible” and “should be applauded”.
The financial support to the GHF is part of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “pursuit of peace in the region”, he said.
‘Nothing but death’
A witness who has tried unsuccessfully to receive aid from the distribution sites on several occasions described the nightmarish conditions he faced when attempting to reach the hubs.
Atar Riyad, a father of eight originally from Beit Hanoon who has been displaced to Gaza City, told Al Jazeera he had travelled towards the distribution centres near the so-called Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza several times. Thousands of hungry Palestinians would gather near…