Why the group responsible for food distribution in Gaza has been controversial

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Why the group responsible for food distribution in Gaza has been controversial

Since the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over food distribution in Gaza it has been mired in controversy. Over the past few months trying to get aid in Gaza has been dangerous, even deadly.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A U.S.-backed group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been tasked with distributing food in Gaza, where there is extreme hunger. Trying to get their hands on that food has cost many Palestinians their lives. In a moment, we'll hear from a spokesman with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But first, NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv has this brief overview of the group.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: After a nearly three-month Israeli ban on food entering Gaza, the U.S. announced a new initiative in May - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told reporters...

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MIKE HUCKABEE: It is a humanitarian operation that was initiated by the president in his mandate for us to get aid in to the people who most desperately need it, but to do it in such a way as to not let Hamas control it.

ESTRIN: The claim of Hamas significantly diverting aid is disputed. The former ambassador to Israel under President Biden says there is no evidence of substantial diversion. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, changed the way civilians collect food in Gaza. Instead of the old, orderly system with hundreds of United Nations food collection points, now there are just a few fenced-in lots guarded by private American contractors with boxes of food piled in the middle for Palestinians to grab what they can. Some take shortcuts, edging close to the sites before they open. Israeli soldiers perceive that as a threat and shoot, as NPR's Anas Baba in Gaza recently reported from a site.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Shouting in Arabic).

ANAS BABA: And I heard the gunshots and the people screaming that they are injured. And other, they're saying that, my brother died. My friend died.

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ESTRIN: Gaza health officials say more than 900 people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to reach the food sites. U.N. officials have called them death traps and militarized aid. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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ANTONIO GUTERRES: People are being killed simply trying to feed themselves and their families.

ESTRIN: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation does not operate in northern Gaza, and that's where the world's top experts on hunger have declared famine.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

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