Controversial US-backed GHF Aid Organization Ends Relief Activities
The debated, American and Israeli-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) says it is concluding its relief activities in the Gaza region, following nearly half a year.
The group had earlier paused its three food distribution sites in Gaza after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into force six weeks ago.
The foundation sought to circumvent United Nations channels as the primary provider of relief to Palestinian residents.
UN and other aid agencies would not collaborate with its system, saying it was improper and dangerous.
Hundreds of Palestinians were fatally wounded while attempting to obtain sustenance amid disorderly situations near the organization's distribution points, mostly by Israeli fire, based on UN documentation.
Israel said its forces fired alerting fire.
Operation Conclusion
The foundation announced on Monday that it was winding down operations now because of the "effective conclusion of its crisis response", with a cumulative three million shipments containing the corresponding to over 187 million food portions delivered to Palestinians.
The GHF's executive director, the foundation leader, additionally stated the American-directed Civil-Military Coordination Center - which has been set up to help implement the American administration's Gaza initiative - would be "taking over and developing the approach the organization demonstrated".
"The organization's system, in which militant groups were prevented from misappropriating relief supplies, was significantly influential in bringing Palestinian factions to negotiations and achieving a ceasefire."
Comments and Positions
The Palestinian faction - which refutes aid diversion claims - approved the termination of the aid organization, according to reports.
A representative of said the organization should be subject to scrutiny for the damage it inflicted to Gazans.
"We call upon all global human rights groups to guarantee that responsibility is assigned after resulting in fatalities and harm of many residents and covering up the nutritional restriction approach employed by the Israeli authorities."
Organization Timeline
The foundation started work in Gaza on late May, a week after Israel had partially eased a complete restriction on humanitarian and trade shipments to Gaza that continued for 77 days and caused severe shortages of essential supplies.
Subsequently, a nutritional emergency was proclaimed in the Gaza metropolitan area.
The foundation's nourishment distribution centers in various parts of the Palestinian territory were managed by US private security contractors and positioned in regions under Israeli military authority.
Aid Organization Objections
The UN and its partners said the approach breached the fundamental humanitarian principles of objectivity, fairness and autonomy, and that guiding distressed residents into armed forces regions was intrinsically hazardous.
United Nations human rights division said it recorded the deaths of a minimum of 859 residents seeking food in the area surrounding organization centers between 26 May and 31 July.
An additional 514 individuals were fatally wounded around the courses followed by international humanitarian deliveries, it added.
The greater part of these people were lost their lives due to the Israeli military, as per the organization's documentation.
Conflicting Accounts
The Israeli military claimed its soldiers had fired warning shots at people who approached them in a "intimidating" manner.
The organization declared there were no shootings at the distribution centers and claimed the international organization of using "inaccurate and deceptive" figures from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Future Implications
The GHF's future had been unclear since Palestinian factions and Israeli authorities consented a halt in hostilities arrangement to carry out the primary segment of the United States' reconciliation proposal.
The arrangement specified humanitarian assistance would take place "free from intervention from the involved factions through the United Nations and its agencies, and the international relief society, in combination with other global organizations not connected in any way" with Hamas and Israel.
United Nations representative Stephane Dujarric declared this week that the foundation's closure would have "zero effect" on its activities "because we never worked with them".
He also said that while more aid was getting into Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on October 10th, it was "insufficient to satisfy all requirements" of the 2.1 million residents.