A US-backed group seeks to take over Gaza aid distribution in a plan
similar to Israel's
[May 09, 2025]
By SAM MEDNICK, JULIA FRANKEL and SARAH EL DEEB
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A group of American security contractors,
ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials is proposing to take
over the distribution of food and other supplies in Gaza based on plans
similar to ones designed by Israel.
The Associated Press obtained a proposal from the newly created group,
the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to implement a new aid distribution
system supplanting the current one run by the U.N. and other
international aid agencies. The U.N. and aid groups have rejected
Israel’s moves to control aid distribution.
It was not immediately clear if the proposal from the new group, which
is registered in Geneva, would ease those concerns.
Israel has blocked food, fuel, medicine and all other supplies from
entering Gaza for 10 weeks, worsening a humanitarian crisis for 2.3
million Palestinians. It has said it won’t allow aid back in until a
system is in place that gives it control over distribution.
The 14-page proposal circulated this week among aid groups and U.N.
officials lays out plans similar to ones Israel has been discussing
privately for weeks with international aid groups. The proposal reveals
for the first time plans to create the foundation and names the people
leading it.
A U.N. official said last week that Israel's plans would “weaponize aid”
by placing restrictions on who is eligible to receive it.
Aid workers have also criticized the plans, which would centralize
distribution at four hubs under the protection of private security
contractors. They say the plans could not possibly meet the needs of
Gaza’s large and desperate population, and that they would forcibly
displace large numbers of Palestinians by driving them to move nearer to
the aid.
Under the new group's proposal, Palestinians would receive pre-packaged
rations, potable water, hygiene kits, blankets, and other supplies at
the distribution hubs. The group said it wants to partner with the U.N.
and international aid groups in handing out their supplies.
A U.S. official confirmed the authenticity of the proposal and said the
former director of the U.N. World Food Program, David Beasley, is the
lead choice to run GHF. The proposal could still be revised and
Beasley’s role is not confirmed, the official said, speaking on
condition of anonymity to detail plans that have not been made public.
Beasley, a former governor of South Carolina, didn’t immediately respond
to messages seeking comment.
Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of siphoning off large amounts
of aid. The U.N and aid workers deny there is significant diversion,
saying the U.N. strictly monitors distribution.
When contacted Thursday for comment about GHF’s proposal, Israeli
officials did not immediately respond.
U.S. backing for the foundation
The Trump administration supports the new group's proposal, said a
person involved in it. The person said GHF would work “within the
confines” set by Israel on aid but would be “independent and committed
to humanitarian principles” — a nod to U.N. concerns. The person spoke
on condition of anonymity to discuss a plan not yet made public.
“This is a new approach with one focus: Get help to people. Right now,”
said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce.
Ahead of his first trip to the Middle East this week, U.S. President
Donald Trump said “a lot of talk” was going on about Gaza and that his
administration will soon have more to say about a new proposal. This may
include a new push for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, the release
of hostages and an influx of aid to Palestinians.
Aryeh Lightstone, a senior member of U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s
team, was involved in briefing U.N. agencies and aid groups about the
foundation as they gathered in Geneva on Thursday, according to two
humanitarian workers briefed on the meeting who spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to comment to the media.
Who’s involved?
GHF's proposal names a 10-member leadership team that includes former
senior American military officers, business executives and officials
from aid groups. At least two of them have ties to private security
companies.
Beasley is listed among them, but the proposal says his role is still
“to be finalized.” Beasley is also a senior advisor to Fogbow, a private
U.S. firm that participated in the short-lived project delivering aid to
Gaza by sea via a U.S. military-built pier.
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A makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across
Gaza City on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The AP contacted people listed in the proposal to confirm their
participation. Only one responded, saying he was “not on the board.”
The person involved in planning said the list was still in flux.
How would it work?
According to the proposal, GHF would initially set up four
distribution sites, each serving 300,000 people. That would cover
about half of Gaza’s population. The system would be scaled up to
meet the needs of 2 million people. But the proposal does not give a
timeframe. Aid workers warn that food is rapidly running out in Gaza
under Israel’s blockade.
The GHF proposal said subcontractors will use armored vehicles to
transport supplies from the Gaza border to distribution sites, where
they will also provide security. It said the aim is to deter
criminal gangs or militants from redirecting aid.
It did not specify who would provide security but said it could
include personnel who previously worked in the Netzarim Corridor, an
Israeli-held zone cutting off northern Gaza. A private logistics and
operations company, Safe Reach Solutions, has operated in the
corridor.
GHF said people will get assistance based on need with no
eligibility requirements. This appears to differ from proposals
floated by Israel. Aid workers say Israel has said it intends to vet
aid recipients and screen them using facial recognition.
What do aid groups say?
Throughout Israel’s campaign in Gaza, the U.N. and other
humanitarian groups have been carrying out a massive aid program.
They have trucked in supplies and distributed them across the
territory, going as close as possible to where Palestinians were
located.
What has chiefly hampered the system, aid workers have said, are
Israeli military operations and restrictions on movement, as well as
the low amount of aid allowed to enter even before the blockade.
Convoys have also been attacked by criminal groups stealing aid, and
hungry Palestinians have sometimes taken supplies from trucks.
Aid workers contacted by the AP cast doubt whether GHF would meet
humanitarian requirements for neutrality and independence.
Shaina Low, communications adviser for Norwegian Refugee Council,
one of the main organizations in Gaza, said aid groups are concerned
the plan will be used “to advance military and political goals.”
By forcing the population to relocate around aid hubs, the system
would “depopulate entire parts of Gaza” and could be used to
potentially expel the population, she said.
“They are framing (the plan) to fix the problem that doesn’t really
exist," she said, referring to Israel’s contention that it must
prevent Hamas from taking aid.
The use of private security companies has also alarmed humanitarian
workers. While it’s common for private security firms to operate in
conflict zones, they have to respect humanitarian law and at a
minimum be fully vetted and monitored, said Jamie Williamson,
executive director for the International Code of Conduct
Association.
Tamara Alrifai, communications director for the U.N. agency for
Palestinian refugees, which has led the aid effort it Gaza, said the
plan was logistically unworkable.
She said the foundation does not appear able to match the current
infrastructure needed to distribute food and address other
humanitarian needs.
Alrifai called it “a very dangerous precedent" for countries to use
“full siege as a tactic of war” to force the abandonment of
“existing aid structures and the entire international system that
exists and is recognized and start creating a new system.”
___
El Deeb reported from Beirut. AP reporters Matthew Lee in
Washington, Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations, Meg Kinnard in
Chapin, South Carolina, and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to
this report.
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