The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is reaching out to one of its most prominent critics in hopes of bridging the divide and finding a path to collaboration on aid distribution. On Tuesday, the organization’s executive chairman, Rev. Johnnie Moore, sent a letter to Tom Fletcher, the United Nations' under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator .
"As you are aware, the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Despite the extraordinary volume of aid inside Gaza, the vast majority of it remains warehoused, undelivered, or looted. The result is millions of civilians without consistent access to food aid," Moore wrote.
In his letter, Moore asserts that while U.N. agencies have blamed the stalled aid on a "lack of permissions" and security concerns, the reality is much different.
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"More than 400 aid distribution points run by the U.N. and its partners remain closed. Kitchens have shuttered, trucks sit idle, drivers are striking, and convoys are routinely looted. This is not an access issue. It is a capacity and operational issue, and the world deserves honesty about that distinction."
Moore also expressed concern over U.N.-aligned organizations and spokespeople launching public retaliation attacks while ignoring "broader systemic failures."
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson, posted a video on Tuesday allegedly showing 950 trucks of aid "waiting in Gaza for international organizations to pick up and distribute to Gazan civilians."
APP USERS READ THE LETTER HERE
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When it comes to criticisms from the U.N., GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay told Fox News Digital the organization was established to correct mistakes the international body has made over the years.
"The U.N. has been doing this for years and that's why we're here. GHF was created to solve two problems. One, Israel lost faith in the prior system because of the second problem, which was diversion. Again, the U.N. has had a near perfect record of food being diverted for various reasons, including corruption and working with local Hamas agents in Gaza, so that's why we're here. And the difference is we are delivering this safely and securely, and we've had zero aid diverted, zero of our trucks have been diverted," Fay said.
According to Fay, GHF has distributed approximately 85 million meals since it began operations in the Strip just under two months ago.
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Fletcher is among several U.N. critics who have voiced opposition to the U.S.- and Israel-backed GHF. Before the organization even began distributing meals, Fletcher said it was a "fig leaf for further violence and displacement" and a "cynical sideshow." Since then, Fletcher and U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese have criticized the GHF over reports of violence at its sites, with Albanese calling them "death traps."
"Regardless of what you hear or read about in the international media, we've had very little violence on our sites," Fay told Fox News Digital. He added that there were only two incidents: a deadly trampling that Fay said was "fomented by Hamas," and another was a terror attack in which "Hamas-style grenades" were thrown at and injured two American workers.
"The veterans that make up our security personnel are highly, highly trained, experienced, and skilled. And they are not there because they know how to pull a trigger, they are there because they know when not to pull a trigger. And our people have never once shot at anyone," Fay said.
Fay told Fox News Digital that the IDF is "responsible for security outside of our sites in Gaza, so you’d have to ask them about the casualties." In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment, the IDF said that "instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned" from situations in which civilians were harmed.
"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned. The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF," the IDF told Fox News Digital.
