What we know about controversial Gaza aid deliveries backed by U.S. and Israel
The delivery of essential aid under the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been rejected by the UN, which says it risks the enforced displacement of Palestinians
Claim
The controversial U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Monday evening that it had begun distributing aid in Gaza.
Background
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private aid-organisation backed by the U.S. and Israel, said it began aid deliveries in Gaza on Monday, May 26. The organisation is registered in Switzerland and Delaware, according to the Washington Post and Shomrim – an Israeli investigative journalism outfit.
On Monday, the organisation which uses armed security contractors, reportedly released images appearing to show trucks loaded with aid arriving and men carrying away boxes of aid. The BBC reported no information had been provided on how many trucks had entered Gaza or how many people had collected the aid.
GHF is designed to bypass the UN as the main provider of aid after an 11-week Israeli blockade of all humanitarian and commercial deliveries into Gaza. Israel claims aid is being misdirected to Hamas — an allegation that it has provided no evidence for.
The UN and many other aid organisations have refused to work with GHF saying its model that requires people to gather at aid hubs risks enforced displacement. Earlier in May, BBC Verify found several sites via satellite imagery that appeared to be under construction for use as aid distribution points.
The announcement of aid delivery followed a day after GHF CEO Jake Wood, a former U.S. marine, abruptly resigned citing concerns over “the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence”. The statement shared by CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond cited Wood saying: “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. However, it is clear 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.”
A report by Israeli news outlet YNet on the weekend said the organisation had shut its offices in Switzerland amid “growing media scrutiny and possible investigation“.
Method
The ESN has found no official website or social media account linked to the GHF. The images and statement appear to have been released only to news agencies directly.
The BBC reported that the GHF had issued a statement to journalists on Monday night saying it had “commenced operations in Gaza” and delivered “truck loads of food to its Secure Distribution Sites, where distribution to the Gazan people began”.
It was also cited saying: “More trucks with aid will be delivered [on Tuesday], with the flow of aid increasing each day.” The statement also included photos showing just over a dozen men carrying away boxes from an unspecified location, the BBC said.
These photos appear to have been released by news agency Reuters and were also circulated on social media.
An Anadolu report on Tuesday cited Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s director of communications, expressing skepticism about the GFH aid delivery while speaking to reporters.
Hani Almadhoun, Senior Director of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA posted what he said was his “personal opinion” on social media network LinkedIn, writing: “These images? They supposedly show Palestinian men collecting food rations from the so-called “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” — a project so cynical, it feels like it was crafted in a propaganda war room. But look closer: the footwear alone tells another story. These could be paid actors, local collaborators tasked with looting aid trucks, or private contractors — maybe even individuals from the marginalized Bedouin community — all staged to sell the illusion that this failed scheme is somehow operational.”
The ESN spoke to two local reporters on Tuesday morning, May 27, that have been publishing footage from Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, over recent days and asked them if they had heard anything about the aid delivery from GHF. Both said no aid had reached them.
One said, “No humanitarian aid has reached us. Everything that was published shortly after was published by the Israeli media only. As for the photos, they may be of truck drivers.”
On Tuesday afternoon, eyewitness images began to circulate described as showing GHF aid that had been collected in west Rafah, in the most southern part of Gaza. A user called Muhannad Qashta, describing himself as “freelance journalist specialising in Rafah affairs and news” on Facebook, wrote: “Some citizens receive food parcels from the Al Alam area west of #Rafah.” On an associated Telegram account, he published photos showing a long line of people that he said were queuing for food handouts and women carrying cardboard boxes with a sticker saying GHF. The photos had his name on them but were of inconsistent and poor quality. A reverse image search did not show up any earlier versions of the images.
A short time later, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hadath channel reported from the ground that an “American company” had just started distributing aid at a designated site in Tel Sultan, west of Rafah.
The Israel Defence Forces also issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon along with aerial footage and images saying: “As part of the gradual opening of the distribution centers, two distribution centers operating in the ‘Tel Sultan’ area and the ‘Moraj’ axis in Rafah began operating today (Tuesday) to distribute food packages to thousands of families in the Gaza Strip.”
It said two further centres would open.
Rating
Aid distributions by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation appear to have started at a site west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, a day after the organisation announced it had begun aid deliveries on Monday.
First images and third-party reports appeared on Tuesday afternoon. No information about the amount of aid or the number of people served has been released so far.
Sources
Facebook. (2025). Available at: Muhannad Qashta. [Accessed 27 May 2025].
Telegram (2025). Available at: Muhannad Qashta. [online] [Accessed 27 May 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: Al Hadath. [Accessed 27 May 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: The head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation just resigned... [Accessed 27 May 2025].
Almadhoun, H. (2025). Available at: We’re being told — again — by the Israeli army, whose credibility is about as solid as sand in a storm. [online]. LinkedIn [Accessed 27 May 2025].
Anadolu. (2025). Available at: UN says Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s activities in Gaza ‘distraction’ from critical needs [online]. [Accessed 27 May 2025].
BBC (2025). Available at: New US-backed group says it has begun aid distribution in Gaza [online] [Accessed 27 May 2025].
Blau, U. (2025). Available at: The Secretly Established Mechanism for Funding and Operating the Humanitarian Program in Gaza. [online] Shomrim. [Accessed 27 May 2025].
IDF Blog (2025). Available at: The establishment of 4 humanitarian aid distribution centers throughout the Gaza Strip has been completed. [Accessed 27 May 2025].
Ynet News. (2025). Available at: Questions mount as organization overseeing Gaza aid shuts down. [online] [Accessed 27 May 2025].