Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was an organization backed by the Israeli and American governments with the stated purpose of distributing humanitarian aid amid the ongoing famine and humanitarian crisis resulting from the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. It was established in February 2025, suspended operations in October 2025, and closed in November 2025. Intended to bypass the United Nations as the main supplier of aid in Gaza, GHF began operating in May 2025 as a response to fraudulent Israeli claims that aid was being routinely diverted by Hamas. Aid organizations including the UN have denied these claims and attributed the aid theft to Palestinian groups armed by the Israeli military.
There were repeated mass killings in the vicinity of GHF distribution sites. As of 15 August 2025, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that of the 1,760 Palestinians killed since 27 May while seeking food, 994 were killed in the vicinity of GHF sites. The attacks at GHF sites were attributed to Israel Defense Forces by the OHCHR, Gaza officials, and witnesses. US contractors with the GHF were also filmed shooting Palestinian civilians, and according to former staff, its organizational culture dehumanized aid seekers and imposed few controls on the behavior of contractors. The GHF and the IDF repeatedly denied responsibility for deaths at aid sites, saying that only warning shots were fired.
Survivors of the repeated mass killings perpetrated at the distribution sites began to refer to the Israeli-backed operation as traps or death traps rather than aid. Doctors Without Borders described the conditions around these distributions as "slaughter masquerading as aid" and "orchestrated killing". The Center for Constitutional Rights and 14 other human rights organizations warned that the GHF could be liable for complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against Palestinians. Critics referred to the mass killings at GHF sites as the "hunger games" in reference to the American media franchise.
The United Nations and other aid groups refused to cooperate with the GHF and accused them of politicizing and "weaponizing aid", and delivering it in a manner that is unsafe and degrading for the Palestinian people. The United Nations and over 170 charities and NGOs, including Save the Children and Oxfam, accused the GHF of failing to uphold and violating humanitarian norms by forcing two million Palestinians into overcrowded and militarized zones and subjecting aid-seekers to almost daily attacks; they demanded that the GHF be immediately closed.
GHF was led by executive director John Acree, a former USAID manager, and executive chairman Johnnie Moore, an American evangelical leader and businessman.
GHF's operations were suspended following the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire. A spokesperson for the group described an intent to resume operations. In November 2025, the GHF announced the permanent end of its operations in Gaza, saying that they "succeeded in their mission of showing there's a better way to deliver aid to Gazans."
Background
Due to Israeli checkpoints into Gaza, the Israeli government and IDF have controlled the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza, with aid delivery disrupted multiple times over the years, either via Israeli government blockades or Israeli civilian actions. On 2 March 2025, Israel instituted a blockade on the Gaza Strip denying entry of food, water, medical supplies, shelter, and fuel with the stated aim of pressuring Hamas to release hostages. The blockade raised concerns about famine from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. In early May, the United States government confirmed reports of a planned aid distribution system led by the newly registered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, with security provided by private contractors and the Israeli military. On 19 May, aid trucks entered Gaza for the first time since the blockade following a statement by Israel allowing the entry of a "basic amount of food". The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid on 26 May.According to a report by The New York Times, the idea of an Israeli-backed private food distribution program was discussed in December 2023. Throughout 2024, Israeli officials worked with private American security contractors, primarily CIA veteran Philip Reilly, to develop a plan. Reilly later launched the security company Safe Reach Solutions in January 2025, which was tasked with securing food distribution sites in Gaza. SRS is owned by a trust based in Wyoming whose beneficiary is McNally Capital, a private equity firm founded in 2008 by Ward McNally. Boston Consulting Group also helped to set up GHF, signing multiple contracts with McNally Capital to assist SRS, though it later withdrew from the project. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the foundation was an initiative that originated in Israel.
Organization
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was registered in February 2025 in Delaware with a contingency filing in Geneva that was being wound down. Former CEO of World Central Kitchen Nate Mook was described as a board member on early GHF documents, but has stated that he is not on the board.Starting on 12 June 2025, former USAID official John Acree began serving as the group's interim director. According to Acree, "The demand for food is relentless, and so is our commitment…We're adjusting our operations in real time to keep people safe and informed, and we stand ready to partner with other organizations to scale up and deliver more meals to the people of Gaza."
On 3 June, American evangelical leader and businessman Johnnie Moore Jr. was appointed executive chairman of GHF. Moore had previously praised Donald Trump's proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, stating "The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope and a future."
The plan would use a small number of distribution hubs, mostly in southern Gaza, secured by the Israeli military and private US-based contractors, without the aid of IDF members. The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee indicated to reporters that IDF troops would be stationed "at a distance" from the hubs for additional protection. The plan was similar to earlier plans by the Israeli military, and contrasted with models by the UN and other international agencies which involved hundreds of smaller distribution points throughout the Gaza strip.
Aid officials said they would screen people for involvement with Hamas militants, perhaps using facial recognition or biometric technology.
The stations were designed to distribute aid only once or twice a month at specific locations, with aid being described as pre-packaged rations, hygiene kits, and medical supplies. The proposal indicated that each meal was budgeted around $1.30 which would include procurement and distribution costs.
In June 2025, Boston Consulting Group terminated its contract with the GHF. BCG helped create the GHF in coordination with Israel and was responsible for setting prices for contractors. BCG said that the work was done pro bono but The Washington Post reported that BCG submitted invoices of over $1 million per month. BCG fired two senior partners, calling the work they oversaw for GHF "unauthorized".
In early July 2025, Swiss authorities ordered the GHF office in Geneva to be closed for noncompliance with legal requirements to continue its operations.
Executive director transition
, the initial executive director, is a former US marine and co-founder of disaster relief agency Team Rubicon. On 25 May 2025, Wood announced that he was stepping down because it was impossible to meet the foundation's objectives while "strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, which I will not abandon." Wood said that he "unequivocally... will not be part of anything that forcibly dislocates or displaces the Palestinian population." He also called on Israel to allow significantly more aid to enter Gaza through all pathways and for such aid to be allowed in without diversion or discrimination, while also calling on Hamas to release the hostages. The GHF said its operations would begin without Wood, and that it would be feeding more than one million Palestinians within a week.Program characteristics
The program – known as the "Humanitarian Aid Distribution Program in the Gaza Strip" – was a joint American-Israeli program by the GHF designed to facilitate the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, in response to the eleven week blockade of food entry into Gaza imposed by Israel. The United States and Israel said distributing aid through the GHF would prevent Hamas from stealing aid. The UN said that Hamas stealing aid was not a widespread affair. Hamas said that it had not stolen aid.Operations
Three GHF distribution sites were in Rafah, in areas where the IDF had issued evacuation warnings, and one is in Gaza City. As of 29 May 2025, no distribution sites had been built north of the Netzarim Corridor. In July 2025, GHF said that it had created separate lanes for women and children and was increasing programs for direct aid delivery to communities. On 6 August 2025, U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced plans to "scale up" the number of distribution sites from four to sixteen and begin to operate them 24 hours a day.The facilities were secured by American contractors and monitored by the Israel Defense Forces from a distance.
The assistance primarily consisted of boxes of food. Israeli authorities said that the aid included flour, baby food, and medical supplies. A 13 June report on Devex said that GHF boxes do not provide fuel, water, sanitation, shelter, or health care. Palestinians interviewed by Middle East Eye described the boxes provided by the GHF as inadequate, saying that the boxes did not contain supplies such as bottled water, cooking fuel, medicines, blankets, baby formula, or baby food. The BBC reported that GHF boxes primarily contained dry foods that required fuel and water to cook, despite Gaza undergoing a water crisis, and some ready-to-eat foods. The GHF said that each box contained 42,500 calories, and would feed 5.5 people for 3.5 days. Sources interviewed by the BBC said that the boxes lacked nutrients such as calcium, zinc, and iron, and could lead to an increased risk of anemia and scurvy.
By the end of its first day of operations, GHF reported that it had distributed 8,000 food boxes, estimated to feed 44,000 people for half a week — covering about 2% of Gaza's population. On 12 June, it reported a daily distribution of 2.6 million meals, the highest daily output since the start of its operations. GHF originally calculated meals to contain, and this calculation was raised to in June; the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and World Food Programme set a standard of per day in emergency situations. Alex de Waal estimates that the GHF's distribution work covers less than half of Gaza's nutrition needs.