A US-backed foundation tasked with supplying aid to Gaza said it had begun operations on Monday, delivering truckloads of food to designated distribution sites a day after its executive director resigned because the operation could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to “humanitarian principles”.
The aid plan, which has been endorsed by Israel but rejected by the UN, unfolded amid uncertainty about whether any assistance had actually reached civilians.
Palestinians reported no sign of aid deliveries earlier on Monday, but the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) later said truckloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution had begun. It was not clear where the hubs were located or how those receiving supplies were chosen.
“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.
The GHF is taking over the handling of aid despite objections from the United Nations. The desperately needed supplies started flowing on a day that saw Israeli strikes kill at least 52 people in Gaza.
The UN and aid groups have pushed back against the new system. They say that Israel is trying to use food as a weapon and that a new system won’t be effective.
Israel has pushed for an alternative aid delivery plan because it says it must stop Hamas from seizing aid. The UN has denied that the militant group has diverted large amounts.
On Sunday the GHF’s head, Jake Wood, resigned, saying it had become clear the foundation would not be allowed to operate independently.
In a statement he said, it was “not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon”.
The organisation appointed an interim leader, John Acree, to replace Wood.
The organisation is made up of former humanitarian, government and military officials. It has said its distribution points will be guarded by private security firms and that the aid would reach a million Palestinians – around half of Gaza’s population – by the end of the week.
The new operation will rely on four major distribution centres in southern Gaza that will screen families for involvement with Hamas militants, potentially using facial recognition or biometric technology, according to aid officials.
But many details of how the operation will work remain unexplained, and it was not immediately clear whether aid groups that have refused to cooperate with the foundation would still be able to send in trucks.
Hamas condemned the new system, saying it would “replace order with chaos, enforce a policy of engineered starvation of Palestinian civilians, and use food as a weapon during wartime.“
With food critically short after a nearly three-month blockade, Israel has faced a mounting international outcry this, including from western allies, as it launched a new offensive in Gaza, already largely destroyed by Israeli bombardment and where the population of 2 million is at risk of famine.
Under international pressure, Israel began allowing a trickle of humanitarian aid into Gaza last week.
Close ally Germany said Israel’s recent attacks in Gaza were inflicting a toll on civilians that could no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas, which ignited the war with its cross-border 7 October 2023, attack on Israel.
In Gaza City, medics said 30 Palestinians, including displaced women and children who were seeking shelter in a school, were killed in an airstrike on Monday. Images shared widely on social media showed what appeared to be badly burned bodies being pulled from the rubble.
Israel’s military confirmed it had targeted the school. It said the building was being used as a centre by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants to plan and organise attacks.
Israel’s military said it used precise weapons, surveillance and other steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. It did not provide evidence that the school was being used by militants.
Another strike on a house in Jabaliya, adjacent to Gaza City, killed at least 15 other people, medics said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
