The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been a significant point of international discussion since the conflict between Hamas and Israel began in 2023. Both established and newer aid organizations have swiftly moved to provide vital assistance to Palestinians. However, one group in particular, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has faced controversy for its efforts to deliver food to the Strip.
Joe Truzman, a senior research analyst and editor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, informed Digital that “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.”
Despite the criticism and accusations of violence against Palestinians seeking assistance at its distribution points, GHF has supplied over 76 million meals since its operations started in late May. Truzman indicated that Hamas has observed — and is reacting to — GHF’s success, as the militant group has been unable to control the aid provided by them.
Truzman believes Hamas’s reaction to GHF is revealing and could suggest the group is losing access to a critical tool for maintaining its authority in Gaza. He told Digital that Hamas uses “a social welfare program” to sustain its hold 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 explained. “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.”
Hamas’s diversion of aid was a concern for the U.S. when it began supporting GHF as a method to provide Palestinians with necessities without allowing terrorists to seize them. In June, upon announcing $30 million in funding for the GHF, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott highlighted the organization’s work in 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 Digital.
The U.N. has been particularly critical of the GHF, which Truzman attributes more to the U.N.’s “very anti-Israel stance” and institutional bias rather than officials’ preference for past methods.
“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 stated that his organization “helped get the U.N. reauthorized when Israel reopened access to Gaza.”
Digital contacted the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) regarding Moore’s claim, but received neither a clear confirmation nor a 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 ,” OCHA Spokesperson Eri Kaneko told 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.”