US-Israeli Aid Scheme Criticized as Tool of Control amid Ongoing Gaza Carnage

The contentious aid initiative launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group supported by Israel and the United States, has begun food distribution in southern Gaza while Israeli forces continue their campaign to seize control of the entire Strip.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 180,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced between May 15 and May 25, as relentless bombardment drives families from their homes.

The GHF, a Swiss-registered company, bypasses existing UN and charity-led distribution networks, and has begun operating under the protection of private armed contractors.

United Nations officials and global aid organizations have refused to collaborate with the group, warning the project could be used to manipulate humanitarian assistance and intensify the displacement of civilians.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, called the initiative a “distraction from what is actually needed,” and urged the reopening of all crossings into Gaza and immediate approval from Israel to allow emergency supplies waiting just outside the enclave.

Despite these objections, the GHF has pressed forward, even after the resignation of its executive director Jake Wood on Sunday. Wood said the organization could no longer adhere to “humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.”

The new operation relies on four central distribution hubs in the south of Gaza, where aid recipients may be screened for affiliations with Hamas, potentially through invasive technologies like facial recognition, according to Reuters-cited officials.

However, critics note the plan does not account for the hundreds of thousands stranded in central and northern Gaza — many suffering from malnutrition and illness — who would be forced to cross dangerous territory just to receive aid.

“Only those who move southwards will get aid,” said Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah. “People will be forced to travel long distances under very dangerous security circumstances in order to get parcels that will be enough for a few days; and, later on, they will need to travel again.”

Abu Azzoum reported that many Palestinians are deeply suspicious of GHF’s close ties with the Israeli government, fearing the aid scheme is designed to manipulate the population and fragment Gaza further.

As GHF operations began, the Gaza Health Ministry said 13 more Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, pushing the death toll beyond 54,000 since the start of Israel’s war on the enclave.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Israel’s escalating military offensive, calling recent strikes on civilian infrastructure “abhorrent.” Her remarks came after Israeli forces bombed a school in Gaza City, killing 36 people, most of them women and children.

Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness described the US-Israeli aid program as “aid washing,” accusing it of serving as cover for ethnic cleansing and genocide.

“It’s quite simply the use of humanitarian aid to justify the weaponisation of humanitarian assistance, but also to justify ethnic cleansing and genocide,” Gunness told Al Jazeera.

He also condemned the use of private mercenaries in the aid process, warning it could trigger another catastrophe similar to last year’s “flour massacre,” when over 100 Palestinians were gunned down while waiting for food aid.

Increased global backlash has prompted France, the UK, and Canada to threaten “concrete actions” unless Israel halts its renewed military campaign and removes aid restrictions. Germany added its voice this week, stating Israel's offensive can “no longer be justified as a fight against terrorism.”

Germany and Finland jointly called for immediate international pressure on Israel to open Gaza to life-saving aid. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also urged the EU to impose sanctions on Israel for its escalating humanitarian violations.

Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected all calls for aid access.

“I say to the prime minister: ‘Dear prime minister, we must not give them humanitarian aid. We must not give them fuel …’ Our enemies deserve only a bullet to the head,” he told a crowd during the controversial “Jerusalem Day” march through occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

 Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 54,056 Palestinians and wounded 123,129, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.