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SvennoJ on 19 May 2025
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GHF welcomes Israeli plan to let aid into Gaza

The head of the US and Israel-backed charity that plans to take over aid distribution in Gaza says the Israeli announcement “marks an important interim step”.

Jake Woods said in a statement that the move is “consistent with the commitment made to us to serve as a bridging mechanism until the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is fully operational”, according to The Times of Israel.

“We expect GHF’s new aid mechanism – including the establishment of four initial Secure Distribution Sites – to be up and running before the end of the month,” he added.

“We have secured, and will continue to mobilize, funding from the international community to support GHF’s operations.”

As we’ve been reporting, the UN says it won’t work with the GHF because their distribution plan is not impartial, neutral or independent.

What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?

We’ve been covering Israel’s announcement that it intends to allow a “basic” amount of food into Gaza.

Israeli sources say that the UN’s food agency and the World Central Kitchen are going to assist with the distribution for about a week until the US and the Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), takes over.

Here’s what we know about the GHF:

  • The charity, registered in Switzerland, is led by former US Marine Jake Woods.
  • It aims to initially set up four distribution sites in southern Gaza, run by private security companies and overseen by the Israeli military, to “ensure aid is not diverted” by Hamas.
  • The UN says it won’t work with the foundation because the distribution plan is not impartial, neutral or independent. Officials there also dismiss Israeli claims of large-scale diversion of aid by Palestinian fighters.
  • Aid groups note that the GHF seeks to supplant the existing system run by the UN, which already has 400 distribution points across Gaza, and will reach only a limited number of people.
  • Aid officials told the US’s NPR it would also advance Israel’s military plans to coerce Palestinians to move from north to south Gaza, and eventually out of the enclave altogether.
  • UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement on Friday: “To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let’s not waste time. We already have a plan. We have the people. We have the distribution networks. We have the trust of the communities on the ground. And we have the aid itself – 160,000 pallets of it – ready to move. Now.”