A private humanitarian organisation backed by the US and Israel and tasked with distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza will begin delivering aid to the besieged enclave on Monday, it said.
The statement comes after Jake Wood, the head of the organisation, the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, resigned on Sunday, saying he could not abandon principles of humanity, impartiality and independence.
Wood, who was serving as the executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the past two months, said he resigned because it could not adhere "to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon".
Earlier this month, Wood told Israeli authorities in a letter that the foundation would not share any personally identifiable information of aid recipients.
The foundation, set up in February, has been highly criticised by the United Nations, whose officials have said its aid distribution plans would only foment forced relocation of Palestinians and more violence.
Starvation in Gaza is devastating children’s bodies and minds, with severe malnutrition halting growth, weakening immunity, and causing psychological trauma.
Fears of forced displacement
The Israeli initiative relies on private companies rather than long-standing aid providers like the UN and other humanitarian organisations.
Under the plan, aid would be delivered to a limited number of designated "secure distribution sites", which Israel says will be located in southern Gaza, providing credence to reports that the Israeli military wants to move all Palestinians to the south from the north in the besieged enclave.
A global hunger monitor has warned that starvation looms over half a million people, a quarter of the population in Gaza.
Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical and humanitarian aid since March 2, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, affecting Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.
The blockade has pushed the region into famine conditions, with many reported deaths due to hunger.
