More than 20 Democratic senators are urging President Donald Trump's administration to end its support for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the wake of the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians at or near aid sites under its control.
Since May 27, the GHF has been solely in charge of aid distribution in Gaza, where in recent weeks dozens of Palestinians have starved to death. Several reports have alleged that the GHF's private guards or the Israeli military have shot desperate Palestinians as they have sought food at aid sites.
“We urge you to immediately cease all US funding for GHF and resume support for the existing UN-led aid co-ordination mechanisms with enhanced oversight to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in need,” the senators, led by Chris Van Hollen, said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied starvation is occurring in Gaza, but President Donald Trump on Monday conceded that what is happening in the enclave is “real starvation”.
“I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Mr Trump said while on a visit to Scotland. “We have to get the kids fed.” He said the UK and other European countries would join in providing aid to Gaza “so we're going to set up food centres where people can walk in with no boundaries”, he said.
Shocking images of malnourished children have emerged in recent days, prompting accusations that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.
Since May, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for food near GHF centres, according to the UN. That number prompted the senators to ask whether the State Department had its own assessment of the number of Palestinians killed since GHF took over aid distribution in the enclave.
“Does the State Department assess that civilians have been killed in or around the GHF distribution sites?” the senators wrote. “If so, how many have been killed and who was responsible for their deaths? Has the State Department requested information from the Israeli government or from GHF and contractors on the ground concerning any incidents of civilian harm?”
Global humanitarian aid organisations have condemned the GHF and called for a return to the UN-led distribution that had been in place before.
