Senior international aid officials have met with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation : Shared by Robert Cohen

International aid agencies hold secret collaboration meeting with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation / The New Humanitarian
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Senior international aid officials have met with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and discussed collaborating with the US- and Israeli-backed group – widely condemned for militarised food distributions that have led Israel to kill hundreds of Palestinians.

Summary

In a confidential meeting on August 6 in New York, U.N. officials and senior figures from other major humanitarian agencies met under Chatham House Rule with representatives from the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — the first such engagement since the group began distributing aid in Gaza. 

The meeting, facilitated by the U.S. and involving the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), marks a notable shift in stance despite widespread criticism of the GHF for its militarized operations that have been linked to hundreds of civilian deaths at aid sites. No formal cooperation was agreed, but the discussions signal a new level of engagement among groups that had previously rebuffed the GHF model.

 

The GHF’s distribution model has been described by Médecins Sans Frontières as a “system of institutionalized starvation and dehumanization.” 

 The UN’s relief chief had earlier warned that the GHF sets an “unacceptable precedent” for violating core humanitarian principles, exposing civilians to harm.