GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center)15 international human rights organizations have called on the Israel- and US-backed Gaza food delivery group, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), and other private groups running humanitarian aid delivery in the Gaza Strip to cease their operations or face legal consequences.
In a letter sent on Monday to GHF and the affiliated Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the rights groups warned that these private contractors operating in Gaza in collaboration with the Israeli government risk “aiding and abetting or otherwise being complicit in crimes under international law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.”
They also noted that the contractors may be liable under US law and in other jurisdictions.
“This new model of privatized, militarized aid distribution constitutes a radical and dangerous shift away from established international humanitarian relief operations,” the 15 organizations said in their letter.
They called the US-backed group’s operations “dehumanizing, repeatedly deadly and (contributing) to the forced displacement of the very population it purports to help.”
The signatories include the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the American Center for Constitutional Rights, and the International Commission of Jurists.
GHF started distribution operations on May 26 after the Israeli occupation regime completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking mass famine.
The UN and major international aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
According to figures issued by the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured since GHF started distributing aid boxes in late May.
GHF has denied responsibility for deaths near its aid points, contradicting footage and statements from news outlets, eyewitnesses, and medical and rescue services.
