The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been a central focus of international debate since Hamas’ war with Israel began in 2023. Longstanding aid organizations and new ones have rushed to provide Palestinians with critical support. But one group in particular has received backlash for trying to deliver food to the Strip, the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
"The big difference between GHF and other aid organizations such as the U.N., for example, is that effectively GHF undercutting Hamas or keeping Hamas out of the loop here when it comes to aid," Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.
AS US-BACKED GROUP DELIVERS 70 MILLION MEALS, UN AND NGOS FIGHT TO DISCREDIT GAZA AID RIVAL
Despite the criticism and accusations of violence against Palestinians seeking aid at its distribution sites, GHF has delivered over 76 million meals since its operation began in late May. Truzman said that Hamas has taken notice — and is reacting — to the GHF’s success, as the terror organization has been unable to control the aid coming from them.
Truzman believes Hamas’ reaction to the GHF is telling and could signal that the group is losing access to a key tool in its arsenal for maintaining control in Gaza. He told Fox News Digital that Hamas uses "a social welfare program" to keep its grip on the population.
"So, for instance, charities that are controlled by Hamas, mosques that are controlled by Hamas, schools that are controlled Hamas and aid that is controlled by Hamas. Now they use it to either feed the community — Palestinians — and by doing that they gain this leverage over Palestinians," Truzman said. "Palestinian civilians need this aid to obviously survive and they count on Hamas to do it. So, this is how Hamas could control the population."
US-BACKED GAZA AID GROUP LAUNCHES BOLD NEW SYSTEM TO DELIVER FOOD DIRECTLY TO FAMILIES
Hamas’ diversion of aid was something that concerned the U.S. when it began backing GHF as a way to provide Palestinians with what they need without letting terrorists get ahold of it. In June, when the U.S. announced $30 million in funding for the GHF, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott touted the organization’s work distributing aid "while preventing Hamas looting."
"If GHF wasn't around right now, I think we'd be back to the same old distribution where Hamas would control it, all right, or other Palestinian terrorist groups. I think that's a problem that nobody's really been able to figure out just yet," Truzman told Fox News Digital.
The United Nations has been particularly critical of the GHF, something that Truzman attributes more to the U.N.’s "very anti-Israel stance" and institutional bias than officials’ desire to stick with methods used in the past.
"I think the UN is very unhappy in the situation that they are not in control anymore, at least, of distributing aid in the Gaza Strip," Truzman said.
On Tuesday, GHF Executive Director Rev. Johnnie Moore said that his organization "helped get the U.N. reauthorized when Israel reopened access to Gaza."
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) about Moore's claim, but did not get a clear confirmation or denial.
"We welcome when anyone with influence who has witnessed the catastrophe unfolding in Gaza for more than 21 months calls on the Israeli authorities to swiftly unlock access and enable the safe, sustained delivery of humanitarian aid," OCHA Spokesperson Eri Kaneko told Fox News Digital. "The lives of the people of Gaza are at stake. Ending their suffering must be the shared priority and ultimate goal for us all to work towards with urgency and determination."
