Rubio open to other Gaza aid distribution plans

US Secretary of State says he is 'troubled' by humanitarian crisis and would consider new ideas for aid

Palestinians receive food from a charity kitchen in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, on May 9. EPA

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said he is willing to consider alternative proposals to get aid into Gaza, after the UN condemned a plan put forward by a private foundation backed by Israel and Washington.

His comments came a day after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it would begin getting food into the enclave by the end of May, almost three months after Israel cut off all food and supplies to the Palestinian territory, leading to famine-like conditions.

The UN has criticised the foundation as not being neutral. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Tuesday called the plan a “cynical sideshow” and a “fig leaf for further violence and displacement”, warning it forces mass displacement and restricts aid to only part of Gaza, turning starvation into a “bargaining chip”.

Mr Rubio told reporters in Turkey that he had heard the criticism of the plan.

“We’re troubled by the humanitarian situation [in Gaza],” he said. “We’re open to an alternative if someone has a better one. We are for all the aid we can get without Hamas being able to steal it from people.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Antalya, Turkey, on May 15. AFP

The GHF has said it will distribute food for 1.2 million Gazans, only about half the population, in an initial phase through four secure distribution sites. Rations, hygiene kits and medical supplies will move through secure corridors and will be monitored to prevent Hamas looting.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said the “distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this".

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said the foundation would start to operate “very soon”.

“Israel … will not be the one giving the aid … it will be done by the fund itself, led by the US,” he said, calling on the UN to rethink its position and help distribute aid.

Tommy Pigott, the deputy spokesman at the US State Department, said the US endorses the GHF plan “in the sense that we want to see creative solutions".

But “if there are better options to get aid in there, we'd like to see those options provided".

Mr Pigott said the US was not providing funding and that David Beasley, a former governor of South Carolina and ex-executive director of the UN's World Food Programme, would be a “fantastic” choice to join the GHF's leadership.

Mr Beasley was head of the WFP when it won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020. His role at GHF has not been confirmed.

The entire population of Gaza is at critical risk of famine, with half a million people facing starvation, a global hunger monitor said on Monday.

Adla Massoud at the UN contributed to this report