{"slug":"gaza-humanitarian-foundation-aid-site-killings","title":"Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: US-Funded Aid Scheme Where Hundreds Were Killed Seeking Food (May–November 2025)","date":"2025-05-26","lastUpdated":"2026-10-04","description":"From 26 May 2025 the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) ran four militarised food distribution sites in Gaza, replacing much of the UN-led aid system during a famine. The UN human rights office recorded at least 1,373 Palestinians killed while seeking food between 27 May and 31 July 2025, 859 of them near GHF sites, most by the Israeli military. Human Rights Watch called the killings war crimes. On 26 June 2025, a month into the killings, the State Department approved US$30 million for GHF, bypassing congressional approval, according to HRW. GHF wound down its operations in November 2025.","summary":"The Trump administration backed and funded a privatised aid scheme in Gaza whose four sites became scenes of near-daily shootings of hungry people, overwhelmingly by Israeli forces. The UN counted 859 killed near GHF sites in its first two months. The US approved $30 million for GHF after the killings were known. Whether that support amounts to complicity in war crimes is plausible but not established.","category":"complicity-in-genocide","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/01/gaza-israeli-killings-of-palestinians-seeking-food-are-war-crimes","title":"Gaza: Israeli Killings of Palestinians Seeking Food Are War Crimes","publisher":"Human Rights Watch"},{"url":"https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165552","title":"Gaza: Nearly 1,400 Palestinians killed while seeking food, as UN warns airdrops are no solution","publisher":"UN News"},{"url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/1/israel-kills-32-palestinians-waiting-for-food-at-us-backed-gaza-aid-sites","title":"Israel kills 32 Palestinians waiting for food at US-backed Gaza aid sites","publisher":"Al Jazeera"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eyewitness-says-american-subcontractors-at-gaza-aid-sites-fired-at-palestinians/","title":"Eyewitness says American subcontractors at Gaza aid sites fired at Palestinians","publisher":"CBS News"},{"url":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/24/controversial-us-backed-ghf-to-end-mission-in-gaza-statement","title":"Controversial US-backed GHF to end mission in Gaza","publisher":"Al Jazeera"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Gaza","Gaza Humanitarian Foundation","famine","aid","starvation","complicity","Israel","private security contractors"],"relatedEntries":["gaza-arms-complicity","gaza-ceasefire-vetoes","gaza-ethnic-cleansing-proposal","usaid-dismantlement"],"timeline":[{"date":"2025-05-26","title":"GHF begins distributions","summary":"The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation opens its first distribution site in Rafah, with US contractors Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions providing logistics and security (HRW)."},{"date":"2025-06-01","title":"32 killed near GHF sites","summary":"Israeli tanks open fire on crowds at GHF distribution points; at least 31 are killed in Rafah and one near Gaza City, and more than 200 injured. Nine people had already been killed in two earlier shootings at the sites (Al Jazeera)."},{"date":"2025-06-26","title":"US approves $30 million for GHF","summary":"The US announces a $30 million allocation to GHF, one month after the killings at its sites began. HRW says it was sent without the usual congressional approvals (HRW; CBS News)."},{"date":"2025-08-01","title":"UN: 1,373 killed seeking food; HRW: war crimes","summary":"The UN human rights office records 1,373 Palestinians killed seeking food since 27 May, 859 near GHF sites. HRW concludes the killings are war crimes and that the US is backing a deadly mechanism (UN News; HRW)."},{"date":"2025-08-21","title":"US contractor alleges indiscriminate fire","summary":"A US logistics contractor tells CBS News that American security personnel at the sites were shooting at Palestinians who were not combatants. GHF denies it (CBS News)."},{"date":"2025-11-24","title":"GHF winds down","summary":"GHF announces it is ending its mission in Gaza, citing the October ceasefire (Al Jazeera)."}],"location":{"name":"Gaza Strip (GHF sites in Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor)","lat":31.29,"lng":34.25},"custom":{"era":"second-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"Fourth Geneva Convention","article":"Articles 23, 55 and 59","provision":"Occupying power's duty to ensure food supplies and to allow and facilitate relief (US is a party)"},{"statute":"Geneva Conventions, Common Article 1","provision":"Duty of all High Contracting Parties to respect and ensure respect for the Conventions (US is a party)"},{"statute":"Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court","article":"Article 8(2)(b)(i) and (xxv); Article 25(3)(c)–(d)","provision":"Attacks on civilians and starvation as a method of warfare; aiding, abetting or contributing to a group crime. The US and Israel are not States Parties; Palestine is, so the Court has territorial jurisdiction over Gaza."}],"iccRelevance":true,"civilianCasualties":859,"victims":"At least 859 Palestinians killed near GHF sites between 27 May and 31 July 2025, and 514 more along aid convoy routes, according to the UN human rights office; later UN figures cited by CBS News put deaths near GHF sites at about 1,000 by late August. Thousands more were injured. The victims were civilians seeking food during a famine.","perpetrators":"Israeli forces, who carried out most of the killings according to the UN human rights office. On the US side: the State Department under Secretary Marco Rubio, which approved $30 million for GHF and publicly backed it, and President Donald Trump's administration, which promoted the scheme as an alternative to the UN system. GHF and its US security contractors, Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, ran the sites.","structuredVictims":[{"group":"Palestinians seeking food at or near GHF distribution sites","nationality":"Palestinian","status":"killed, 27 May–31 July 2025 (OHCHR); about 1,000 by late August per UN data cited by CBS News","count":859}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Israel Defense Forces","role":"Responsible for most of the killings near the sites, according to OHCHR","institution":"Government of Israel"},{"name":"US Department of State","role":"Approved $30 million for GHF in June 2025 and publicly endorsed its operations","institution":"US Government"},{"name":"Gaza Humanitarian Foundation","role":"Operated the four militarised distribution sites with US private contractors","institution":"US-registered foundation"}],"keyPoints":["GHF began distributing food on 26 May 2025 at four sites, all 'within militarized areas': three in Rafah and one in the Netzarim Corridor. Two US contractors ran the system 'in coordination with the Israeli military' (HRW).","The UN human rights office recorded at least 1,373 Palestinians killed seeking food between 27 May and 31 July 2025: 859 in the vicinity of GHF sites and 514 along convoy routes. It found 'most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military' (UN News).","On 1 June 2025 Israeli tanks opened fire on crowds at a Rafah distribution site, killing at least 31 people according to Gaza's Government Media Office, and one more was killed near Gaza City; more than 200 were injured. The Israeli military said, citing an initial inquiry, that its forces did not fire at civilians near or within the site (Al Jazeera).","Human Rights Watch concluded on 1 August 2025 that Israeli killings of Palestinians seeking food are war crimes, and said the US was 'backing and even funding a deadly mechanism that is resulting in Israeli forces killing starving Palestinian civilians as a method of crowd control'.","On 26 June 2025 the US announced a $30 million allocation to GHF, which HRW says the administration sent 'by circumventing congressional approvals'. The State Department called GHF's work 'absolutely incredible' (HRW; CBS News).","A US contractor working at the sites told CBS News that American security personnel were firing at Palestinians and that 'they weren't shooting at combatants'. GHF called the allegations 'utterly baseless'.","In August 2025, 28 UN experts called for GHF to be dismantled. GHF announced on 24 November 2025 that it was winding down, after the October ceasefire (Al Jazeera)."],"searchAliases":["GHF","Gaza Humanitarian Foundation","aid site killings","food distribution killings"],"verificationStatus":"cross-referenced","legalBasis":"Principal crimes: attacks on civilians and starvation as a method of warfare (Rome Statute Art. 8(2)(b)(i), (xxv)), as found by HRW. US conduct: Common Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions (duty to ensure respect); complicity under Rome Statute Art. 25(3)(c)/(d) is plausible but not established.","postureNote":"No court has ruled on the GHF killings. The casualty figures are the UN human rights office's. The characterisation of the killings as war crimes is Human Rights Watch's legal analysis; the UN office said the conduct may amount to war crimes. The US role, funding and political backing for the scheme, is documented by HRW, CBS News and Al Jazeera. Whether that support was substantial and knowing enough to be complicity in the killings, as distinct from support for food distribution, has not been established by any court or UN inquiry. Hence 'potential', and a grade below the top tier.","relatedIncidents":["gaza-arms-complicity","gaza-ceasefire-vetoes","gaza-ethnic-cleansing-proposal","usaid-dismantlement"]}}