Rahma Worldwide, a US-based charity, has accused the Israel-backed and controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of seizing its aid and using its logo without consent.

In a Facebook statement released on Thursday, Rahma said that it has been waiting for four days to transport 4,000 boxes of food and 16 containers of wheat into Gaza but were unable not deliver it to those in need.

GHF took custody of the aid and said it will “assist with distribution”, which Rahma declined, according to the charity.

In a statement to The Guardian on Thursday, the charity also noted images of food boxes bearing its logo were being circulated without Rahma’s direct involvement.

The photos, also included in GHF’s press materials, featured the logos of both Rahma and Heroic Hearts, a partner organisation.

The GHF has faced controversy since its inception. Most humanitarian organisations, including the UN, have distanced themselves from GHF, arguing that the group violates humanitarian principles by restricting aid.

‘Chaotic, undignified’

The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations at an aid distribution centre in southern Gaza on Tuesday.

"We have seen the shocking images of hungry people pushing against fences, desperate for food. It was chaotic, undignified and unsafe," the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said while describing the GHF’s aid distribution.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the aid distribution by the GHF risks distracting from the urgent humanitarian priorities in Gaza, such as sustained access, safe conditions and expedited approval of emergency supplies.

Rights groups have accused Tel Aviv of deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza, using food as a weapon of war.

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.