US backed aid group to start work in Gaza by end of May

UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON - A U.S.-backed humanitarian organization said on Wednesday that it would launch operations in Gaza by the end of May and has asked Israel to allow aid to start flowing into the enclave now under existing procedures until it is set up.

No humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation, a quarter of the enclaves population. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, aid deliveries have been handled by international aid groups and U.N. organizations.

The newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will instead distribute aid in Gaza from so-called secure distribution sites, but said Israels current plan to only allow a few such sites in southern Gaza needed to be scaled up to include the north.

GHF emphasizes that a successful humanitarian response must eventually include the entire civilian population in Gaza, the foundations executive director, Jake Wood, wrote in a letter to the Israeli government.

GHF respectfully requests that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) identify and deconflict sufficient locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within thirty days, he wrote.

He asked Israel to facilitate the flow of enough aid using existing modalities until GHFs distribution infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure, as well as decrease the pressure on the distribution sites during our first days of operation.

U.S. security firm UG Solutions and U.S.-based Safe Reach Solutions, which does logistics and planning, would be involved in the foundations operations, said a source familiar with the plans, speaking on condition of anonymity.

UN, AID GROUPS CONCERNED

Following the GHF announcement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said concerns about aid