Head of US-backed Gaza aid group resigns, says mandate 'not possible' to fulfil

Palestinians look out of a damaged house near the site where Omar Masoud and his family were killed in an Israeli airstrike, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip September 12, 2024. Photo: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
The head of a US-backed aid group for Gaza announced his resignation, saying it was impossible to do his job in line with principles of neutrality and independence, as the organization vowed to start delivering assistance on Monday.

The Gaza Humanitarian foundation (GHF), based in Geneva since February, has promised to distribute some 300 million meals in its first 90 days of operation.

But the United Nations and international aid agencies have said they will not cooperate with the group, amid accusations it is working with Israel while lacking any Palestinian involvement.

In a statement by the GHF, executive director Jake Wood said he felt compelled to leave after determining the organization could not fulfil its mission in a way that adhered to humanitarian principles.

Israel has faced global condemnation over the conditions in Gaza, where it has been at war since Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack.

A more than two-month total blockade on Gaza has only begun to ease in recent days, as agencies warned of growing starvation risks.

"Two months ago, I was approached about leading GHF's efforts because of my experience in humanitarian operations," Wood said.

"Like many others around the world, I was horrified and heartbroken at the hunger crisis in Gaza and, as a humanitarian leader, I was compelled to do whatever I could to help alleviate the suffering."

But, he said, it had become "clear that it is 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 GHF said it was disappointed to learn of Wood's resignation, but added that it would not be deterred.

"Our trucks are loaded and ready to go. Beginning Monday, May 26, GHF will begin direct aid delivery in Gaza, reaching over one million Palestinians by the end of the week. We plan to scale rapidly to serve the full population in the weeks ahead," it said in a statement.

There was no immediate confirmation that GHF would be able to launch its aid effort Monday, however, or of how the aid would be distributed in a territory battered by war.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the territory since a ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,939.

Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.