The U.S. State Department is considering allocating $500 million to a newly established foundation delivering aid to Gaza, according to two informed sources and two former officials. The potential funding would mark a deeper U.S. involvement in a controversial aid initiative that has faced significant unrest and disorder.
The sources and former U.S. officials, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the U.S. State Department.
The plan has met resistance from some U.S. officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources said.
The GHF, which has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for an alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week amid warnings that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli aid blockade, which was lifted on May 19 when limited deliveries were allowed to resume.
The aid foundation has seen senior personnel quit and had to pause handouts twice this week after crowds overwhelmed its distribution hubs.
The State Department and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Aid Distribution
The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.
On Thursday, it was reported that a Chicago-based private equity firm, McNally Capital, has an “economic interest” in the for-profit U.S. contractor overseeing the logistics and security of GHF’s aid distribution hubs in the enclave.
While U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration and Israel say they don’t finance the GHF operation, both have been pressing the United Nations and international aid groups to work with it.
The U.S. and Israel argue that aid distributed by a long-established U.N. aid network was diverted to Hamas. However, Hamas has denied that.
USAID has been all but dismantled. Some 80 percent of its programmes have been canceled and its staff face termination as part of President Donald Trump’s drive to align U.S. foreign policy with his “America First” agenda.
One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official said the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency’s dismemberment.
The source said that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF’s operations for 180 days.
The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Overcrowding
The two sources said that some U.S. officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF’s contractor, and violence nearby.
Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources said.
Gaza hospital officials have said more than 80 people had been shot dead and hundreds wounded near GHF’s distribution points between June 1-3.
Since launching its operation, the aid foundation has opened three hubs, but over the past two days, only two of them have been functioning.
Witnesses blamed Israeli soldiers for the killings. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots on two days, while on Tuesday it said soldiers had fired at Palestinian “suspects” advancing towards their positions.
(With inputs from Reuters)
