Swiss authorities move to shut branch of US-backed Gaza aid group

GHF has not fulfilled the legal requirements to operate in Switzerland

Displaced Palestinians with aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in southern Gaza. AFP

Swiss authorities have moved to strike off a branch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has faced widespread criticism over the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians near its distribution centres.

The group began handing out food aid in Gaza at the end of May, under a system that Israel says is intended to prevent aid from falling into the hands of Hamas.

On Wednesday the GHF said it was planning to shut its branch in Geneva, after Swiss authorities launched proceedings to dissolve it.

The authorities said the GHF had not fulfilled certain legal requirements to operate in Switzerland.

The UN and NGOs have refused to work with the GHF − which is backed by Israel and the US − over safety at its aid distribution points.

Last week, in an apparent reference to the GHF, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said any operation that funnels desperate civilians seeking aid into militarised zones in Gaza is “inherently unsafe”, and “is killing people”.

The Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations (ESA) said in a notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce on Wednesday that it could order the dissolution of the GHF unless creditors come forward within 30 days.

The US-registered GHF had registered an affiliate on February 12 in Geneva, home to headquarters for most UN humanitarian agencies, the Red Cross and many of the other charities involved in global aid distribution.

It said it had made a strategic decision not to start operations in Switzerland, and was now working to dissolve its Swiss-based entity.

The ESA said the GHF had not fulfilled legal requirements to operate in Switzerland, including having the correct number of board members, a postal address or a Swiss bank account.

GHF executive chairman Johnnie Moore said initial funding came from 'two anonymous European countries'. Getty Images

“GHF confirmed to the ESA that it had never carried out activities in Switzerland … and that it intends to dissolve the Geneva-registered [branch],” the ESA said.

Last week, Geneva authorities issued a separate legal notice to the GHF to remedy deficiencies within 30 days or face potential action.

Initial funding for the GHF came from “two anonymous European countries”, executive chairman Johnnie Moore − an evangelical preacher who was a White House adviser in the first Trump administration − told the BBC last week. The US State Department also said it had given GHF $30 million.

More than 500 people have been killed near GHF distribution hubs in Gaza or along access roads guarded by Israeli forces since the GHF started operating, according to Palestinian medical authorities in the territory.

Israel's military acknowledged on Monday that Palestinian civilians had been “harmed” near the distribution centres and said its forces had been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned”.

The GHF has defended its operations, saying it has delivered more than 52 million meals to needy Palestinians in five weeks, while other humanitarian groups had “nearly all of their aid looted”.

More than 170 humanitarian groups signed a letter this week calling on countries to press Israel to end its new system and return to letting in aid mainly through UN-run channels.

Israel cut off all supplies into Gaza from the beginning of March until late May, sharply worsening an acute shortage of food in the territory, where nearly all of the 2.3 million population has been displaced by war since October 2023.