The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, whose operations in Gaza have seen hundreds of Palestinians shot dead while trying to reach aid distribution sites, has said that the civilian population in the devastated enclave “desperately need more aid”.
The group has petitioned the US development agency for $30 million so it can continue its operations.
A US- and Israeli-backed privately run aid organisation in war-hit Gaza last month has asked the administration of US President Donald Trump to step in with an initial $30 million so it can continue its operations. The group said on Saturday that people in the Palestinian territory “desperately need more aid”.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations at the end of May when Israel eased a two-month blockade on Gaza that the United Nations said had produced famine-like conditions.
The group’s operations have been marked by trying to reach the distribution sites. Major humanitarian groups also accuse the foundation of cooperating with Israel’s objectives in the 20-month-old war against Hamas in a way that violates humanitarian principles.
A funding application from the group submitted to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) seen by the Associated Press showed the group has asked the Trump administration to step in with an initial $30 million so it can continue its Gaza operations.
The application was being processed this week as potentially one of the agency’s last acts before the Republican administration absorbs USAID into the State Department as part of deep cuts in foreign assistance.
In a statement on Saturday, GHF interim executive director John Acree said that the organisation was “delivering aid at scale, securely and effectively … But we cannot meet the full scale of need while large parts of Gaza remain closed”.
He added: “The people of Gaza desperately need more aid and we are ready to partner with other humanitarian groups to expand our reach to those who need help the most.”
“We are working with the government of Israel to honour its commitment and open additional sites in northern Gaza.”
According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May, many near GHF sites according to rescuers.
GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting statements from witnesses and Gaza rescue services.
It has said deaths have occurred near UN food convoys.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israeli troops had killed another eight people who were seeking food.
Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire in the southern Gaza Strip, with another five killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving rations from a GHF centre.
Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.
UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
On Tuesday, the UN’s World Health Organization pleaded for fuel to be allowed into Gaza to keep its remaining hospitals running, warning the Palestinian territory’s health system was at “breaking point”.