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State Department says Gaza aid shipments reaching civilians as questions persist about new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
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Summary
A State Department spokesperson said roughly 8,000 food boxes — about 462,000 meals — have been distributed into Gaza by a new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, while U.N. agencies and other aid groups have raised concerns about the foundation's independence, scope and distribution points.
The State Department said on the record that a private initiative called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has begun distributing food into Gaza and that, to date, “approximately 8,000 food boxes have been distributed,” a spokesperson said, an amount the department characterized as equal to about 462,000 meals.
The department framed the deliveries as a substantive breakthrough in getting food into areas where aid previously had been blocked or constrained. “The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ... has commenced providing life saving aid to the people of Gaza who desperately need it,” the spokesperson said. “Those seeking to get aid to the people of Gaza ... have succeeded.”
Reporters pressed the State Department on whether the foundation is independent and impartial; multiple on‑the‑record questions cited public criticism from U.N. officials and the World Food Programme. The spokesperson acknowledged disagreements over the foundation’s makeup and operation but declined to speak for the foundation itself, saying the administration was focused on the movement of aid. “There will be clearly there are some disagreements about how that’s being handled,” the spokesperson said, but added, “the fact is this process managed to overcome that dynamic.”
Journalists described reports from the ground of food riots and serious incidents during distribution and cited public remarks by figures including Cindy McCain and World Food Programme officials that questioned whether the foundation was truly independent and whether concentrating distribution points in the south could be used to shift civilian movement. The spokesperson repeatedly urged reporters to contact the foundation directly for operational details and said the State Department did not run the deliveries. “This is not a State Department project or effort,” the spokesperson said.
The briefing also included a wider U.S. emphasis on efforts to secure a durable ceasefire and to expand humanitarian access. The spokesperson said the administration supports “any mechanism” that leads to a just, durable and lasting peace and reiterated calls for all parties to take feasible measures to mitigate civilian harm.
The State Department declined to confirm granular operational details raised by reporters, including the foundation’s financing, chain of custody for deliveries, and whether people traveling from Gaza’s north to southern distribution points would be permitted to return north. Reporters were told to contact the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for specifics on expansion plans or distribution protocols.
Sources of factual material in this article are statements recorded in the State Department press briefing and questions from reporters recorded on the transcript.
