The head of a US-backed private humanitarian organization tasked with distributing aid in Gaza under an Israeli plan resigned on Sunday, saying the operation had failed to fulfill its mission in accordance with "humanitarian principles."
On Sunday, Executive Director Jake Wood announced his resignation in a statement issued by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), further clouding the future of the operation, according to CNN.
The Geneva-based organization, which has been operating since February, pledged to distribute 300 million meals within its first 90 days of operation. However, the United Nations and traditional aid agencies have already announced that they will not cooperate with the group, fearing it would violate "basic humanitarian principles" and breach international law.
This move comes as Israel has intensified its air campaign on Gaza in recent days. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 46 people in the Gaza Strip on Monday, including 31 people in a school that had been converted into a shelter. The school was bombed while people were sleeping, setting fire to their belongings, according to local health officials.
Fahmi Awad, the ministry's director of emergency services, said the airstrike on the school in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City also injured more than 55 people. He added that a father and his five children were among the dead.
Awad added that the school was bombed three times while people were sleeping, setting fire to their belongings. Footage circulating online showed rescue workers struggling to extinguish the fires and recover charred remains.
The Israeli military said it targeted a militant command and control center inside the school, which Hamas and Islamic Jihad used to gather intelligence for attacks. Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths because it operates in residential areas, a policy the Israeli military has used since the beginning of the war as a pretext for bombing and killing Palestinian civilians.
Health officials in the Palestinian territories said Israeli attacks on Sunday killed at least 38 people, bringing the death toll to more than 100 over the weekend. Several European leaders condemned the new offensive, which comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended a ceasefire with Hamas in March, accusing Israel of starving millions of civilians facing famine. Netanyahu said his plans for private American companies to provide aid, such as the Global Relief Fund, would prevent a humanitarian crisis, even though aid agencies and many governments confirm one already exists.
The Global Relief Fund has emerged at a time when international pressure is mounting on Israel as malnutrition spreads in Gaza, as medics and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian enclave have warned, with dozens of children dying of starvation in recent days. "Two months ago, I was asked to lead the Global Relief Fund's efforts given my experience in humanitarian operations," Wood said in the statement. "Like many others around the world, I was horrified and saddened by the hunger crisis in Gaza, and as a humanitarian leader, I felt compelled to do all I could to help alleviate the suffering."
Wood affirmed that he was "proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a practical plan to feed the hungry, addressing security concerns related to aid diversion, and complementing the work of established NGOs in Gaza."
But he said, "It has become clear that this plan cannot be implemented with strict adherence to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon."
In a statement, the foundation's board of directors expressed its disappointment at Wood's departure, but pledged not to back down from its efforts to reach all residents of the Strip in the coming weeks.
"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go," he said, adding that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will begin delivering aid directly into Gaza starting Monday, reaching more than one million Palestinians by the end of the week.
The network quoted a US State Department spokesperson as saying that the department continues to support the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's plans to begin delivering aid soon. Despite mounting international pressure that prompted Israel to lift the blockade on relief supplies amid warnings of impending famine, Netanyahu declared last week that Israel would control all of Gaza.
Wood called on Israel to "significantly expand the provision of aid to Gaza through all mechanisms," and also urged "all stakeholders to continue exploring new and innovative ways to deliver aid, without delay, diversion, or discrimination."
UN officials said the organization's aid distribution plans would only lead to the forced displacement of Palestinians and increased violence.
Israel had launched this plan, which was scheduled to begin at the end of May. It involved private companies—instead of the United Nations and relief organizations that had managed Palestinian aid for decades—transferring aid to Gaza to a limited number of so-called safe distribution sites, which Israel said would be in southern Gaza.
Heads of households are expected to collect boxes weighing up to 20 kilograms containing several days' worth of food and basic hygiene items such as soap for their families. There are no measures in place to enable the sick or famine-weary to walk long distances across Gaza's devastated landscape carrying heavy loads.
"We understand the plan will increase the suffering of children and families in Gaza," Jonathan Crickx, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said earlier this month.
"How can a mother of four, who lost her husband, carry 20 kilograms to her makeshift tent, which can sometimes be several kilometers away?" Crickx asked. "The most vulnerable, including the elderly, people with disabilities, the sick, the wounded, and orphans, will face enormous challenges in accessing aid."
شارك برأيك
The head of a US-backed Gaza relief organization resigns, insisting he will not abandon his "principles."