UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON: A US-backed humanitarian organization said on Wednesday that it would launch operations in Gaza by the end of May and has asked Israel to allow aid to start flowing into the enclave now under existing procedures until it is set up.

No humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation, a quarter of the enclave’s population. Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, aid deliveries have been handled by international aid groups and UN organizations.

The newly created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will instead distribute aid in Gaza from so-called secure distribution sites, but said Israel’s current plan to only allow a few such sites in southern Gaza needed to be scaled up to include the north.

“GHF emphasizes that a successful humanitarian response must eventually include the entire civilian population in Gaza,” the foundation’s executive director, Jake Wood, wrote in a letter to the Israeli government.

“GHF respectfully requests that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) identify and deconflict sufficient locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within thirty days,” he wrote.

He asked Israel to facilitate the flow of enough aid “using existing modalities” until GHF’s distribution infrastructure is fully operational, saying this is essential to “alleviate the ongoing humanitarian pressure, as well as decrease the pressure on the distribution sites during our first days of operation.”

US security firm UG Solutions and US-based Safe Reach Solutions, which does logistics and planning, would be involved in the foundation’s operations, said a source familiar with the plans, speaking on condition of anonymity.

UN, AID GROUPS CONCERNED

Following the GHF announcement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said concerns about aid distribution remained.

“Humanitarian aid should not be politicized nor militarized. The level of need among civilians in Gaza right now is overwhelming, and aid needs to be allowed to enter immediately and without impediment,” said ICRC spokesperson Steve Dorsey.

Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the Palestinian militant group denies, and is blocking humanitarian deliveries until Hamas releases all remaining hostages.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said earlier on Wednesday that Israel endorsed what he called “the American humanitarian plan.” Israel’s mission to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wood’s letter.

Reuters