The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has urged the United Nations to “publicly condemn the targeting of humanitarian workers in Gaza” and to partner with the group on a new system for getting food “straight to Palestinian families,” according to a letter delivered to UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday.
“The time has come to confront, without euphemism or delay, the structural failure of aid delivery in Gaza,” Rev. Johnnie Moore, GHF’s executive chairman, wrote in the two-page letter, seen by The Jerusalem Post.
“Silence in the face of such violence is not impartiality or neutrality. It is abandonment,” he added.
GHF, an Israeli- and US-backed NGO that began operating in May, says it has distributed nearly 40 million meals through “Secure Distribution Sites” that bypass Gaza’s traditional relief network. Moore argues that reliance on “existing infrastructure” has enabled “mass diversion, looting, and the manipulation of humanitarian flows by bad actors,” a thinly veiled reference to Hamas.
The letter demands that the UN condemn attacks on aid workers and the obstruction of relief “by Hamas and other armed factions,” as well as engage “immediately and directly” with GHF to scale up deliveries, not through intermediaries, but through a model that has already proven its capacity.
Humanitarian agencies continue to push back against GHF efforts
UN agencies warn that parts of Gaza remain on the brink of famine despite an Israeli pledge to ease the blockade. Guterres said this month he was “appalled” that Palestinians are “risking their lives for food.” Medics say Israeli fire has killed more than 500 Palestinians gathering around aid convoys since early June, including at two GHF hubs, although the charity denies responsibility and the IDF says they targeted terrorists only.
The Center for Constitutional Rights recently told GHF it could face litigation for “aiding Israel’s war effort” unless it halts operations. The NGO rejected the allegation.
Moore, an evangelical pastor and former US Commission on International Religious Freedom commissioner, was appointed chair of GHF on June 3. His selection drew scrutiny from human rights groups but also brought high-profile political support: Moore’s social media posts tout truckloads of food crossing Israeli checkpoints “despite the new security realities.”
UN officials have previously said that any new mechanism must guarantee “full, safe, and unhindered” access across Gaza and be coordinated with existing agencies.GHF