The US Agency for International Development (USAID) in June wrote a 14-page confidential internal assessment criticising a request for funding submitted by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF). GHF was seeking $30m of its $100m operating costs from the State Department.
According to the assessment, which was obtained by CNN, at least nine elements normally required to obtain government funding were not included in the application, such as insufficient planning information ensuring Palestinians would actually receive aid.
One criticism was that the overall plan lacked “basic details” regarding a scheme to give out powdered baby formula in a Gaza area where clean drinking water is not available.
“I do not concur with moving forward with GHF given operational and reputational risks and lack of oversight,” a USAID official said, concluding it would not be safe to move forward with the GHF organisation.
A source familiar with GHF’s application told CNN on the condition of anonymity that the paperwork was “abysmal” and “sorely lacking real content”.
Another source added USAID staff had expressed worries about working with GHF because they did not think the group could uphold the humanitarian principle of “do no harm”.
“GHF must explain how it will Do No Harm,” USAID stated, asking the organisation to supply safety, accountability and access details.
Despite the concerns, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and deputy administrator for policy and programmes at USAID, Jeremy Lewin, pressed ahead for expedited approval, two sources told CNN.
Another source noted that expedited approvals are typically reserved for trusted partners, and GHF would not likely have been funded under normal procedures.
After the confidential assessment was made, USAID CFO and deputy administrator for management and resources Kenneth Jackson recommended that Lewin “waive the various criteria given the humanitarian and political urgency of GHF’s operations” in an internal memo dated 24 June.
Both Lewin and Jackson oversaw cuts to USAID as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Two days later, on 26 June, the State Department approved the funding, detailing the requirements needed for the funds, including some concerns raised by USAID.
The $30m funding award has not been disbursed yet and will be released in stages, provided that GHF meets key requirements.
A State Department official last week also suggested the US could provide further funding to GHF as long as it continues to operate “safely and securely and consistent with sort of the principles that we’ve laid out for them”.
In response to the report, the GHF said in a statement, “GHF has done what others could not: deliver free, nutritious, and secure emergency food aid directly to the people of Gaza without interference from Hamas”.
“In just over a month, we’ve delivered more than 66 million meals. We’re grateful to the Trump Administration for recognizing the impact of our work with a $30 million commitment to help expand our operations,” the organisation added.
The group announced that its “success stands in stark contrast to groups that have received US government funding for years – including the UN”.
The US and Israeli-backed GHF was established after Israel blocked humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for 11 weeks.
Criticisms of GHF in the assessment have been mirrored by international humanitarian aid groups who have a track record of safely and effectively delivering food and aid to Palestinians over decades, such as the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees, which was banned from operating by Israel.
The UN and major aid groups have refused to work with GHF, saying it serves Israeli military goals and violates basic humanitarian principles.
GHF’s scheme replaced 400 aid distribution points across the enclave with four militarised distribution sites in central and south Gaza, where millions have been forced to travel from other areas of the strip on foot and risk death in the hope of receiving aid since it started operating on 27 May.
The militarised sites involve US armed security contractors working with the Israeli military. Both American contractors and Israeli soldiers have reportedly killed at least 750 Palestinians seeking aid in the last six weeks it has been in operation.
Israeli troops have admitted to deliberately shooting and killing unarmed Palestinians waiting for aid in the Gaza Strip, following direct orders from their superiors.
More than 170 NGOs called for immediate action to end the “deadly” US and Israeli-backed GHF aid scheme on 1 July, and revert back to UN-led aid coordination mechanisms.
“Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families,” the NGOs announced in a joint statement.
The signatories include Oxfam, Save the Children, Amnesty, Doctors Without Borders, and Action Aid.
GHF’s chairman, Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical leader aligned with US President Donald Trump, has denied that any Palestinians had been killed at its sites, telling journalists earlier this month that no violence had occurred.
“We have not had a single violent incident in our distribution sites. We haven’t had a violent incident in close proximity to our distribution sites,” he stated.
