A Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
aid delivery project described as neutral and run by American contractors was conceived by several Israelis, including businessmen with close links to the government, raising concerns over transparency and neutrality, The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
reported Saturday.
”They’re not part of our black money, leftwing ecosystem — clearly a nefarious enterprise. Let’s get to digging until we can pull it out by the roots and put our people back in control of all that gorgeous aid money!”
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a US- and Israel-backed aid organization that was established to manage a new model for distributing humanitarian aid in the Strip in a manner that does not allow its diversion by Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...It was built in close coordination with Israel amid mounting mistrust between Jerusalem and UN-backed aid groups that have been operating in the Strip to date, but the organization and US officials have maintained that it is an independent and neutral body.
However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
the NYT report revealed that the project wasn’t simply built in coordination with Israel, but is "an Israeli brainchild."
The idea was first proposed in late 2023 at "private meetings of like-minded officials, military officers and business people with close ties to the Israeli government" who believed the government lacked a long-term Gaza strategy, the report said.
The report posited that the "project’s genesis" occurred when "hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians rejoined the military as reservists, many of them reaching positions of influence," following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks.
This created "a huge cohort of Israelis with one foot in the military and another in civilian life, blurring the boundary between the two worlds."
The group’s central idea was to bypass traditional aid channels like the UN by hiring private contractors to distribute aid in pockets of Gaza under Israeli control, thus weakening Hamas’s grip without formally assuming responsibility for Gaza’s civilian population.
Key players in the new plan included venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg, who was not in the military, Yotam HaCohen, a strategic consultant who joined the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and later became an aide to the prime minister’s military secretary Brig. Gen. Roman Gofman, and Liran Tancman, a tech investor also affiliated with COGAT.
By early 2024, Israeli officials had begun promoting Philip F. Reilly, a former senior CIA officer who trained Contra fighters in Nicaragua and served as CIA station chief in Kabul, as their preferred contractor.
Reilly confirmed to the newspaper that he met with Eisenberg and Tancman and began discussing Gaza aid with Israeli civilians that year.
Reilly’s S.R.S. security firm began operating in Gaza in January 2025, screening Paleostinian cars for weapons during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
According to a separate Haaretz report published Sunday, S.R.S entered Gaza without any prior security clearance from the Shin Bet as is the procedure. Gofman reportedly handpicked S.R.S. in a secretive process that bypassed standard procedures and excluded key defense bodies, including the Shin Bet, the IDF, and the Defense Ministry.
Sources told the outlet that the process appeared pre-decided in favor of Reilly’s company and that the Prime Minister’s Office, especially Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a key Netanyahu confidant, played a central role in pushing it forward.
Businessman Shlomi Fogel, also a Netanyahu confidant, was also named in connection but has denied involvement.
Many within the defense establishment suspect personal and financial motives may be driving the operation, given the lack of transparency and the exclusion of official oversight bodies, Haaretz reported.
UNCLEAR ORIGINS, MYSTERIOUS FUNDING
Another key revelation of The New York Times report was that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was registered in the US, not Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
, as previously believed.
Two entities — GHF and the private security firm S.R.S. — were registered in November 2024 by associates of Reilly.
GHF, led by Jake Wood, will supposedly raise funds and hire S.R.S. to secure food distribution. Though Wood said the two groups now operate independently, they were registered by the same US lawyer and shared a spokeswoman until recently.
Adding to the confusion, at least two other organizations named Gaza Humanitarian Foundation exist—one registered in the US and another in Switzerland. A front man for Wood’s foundation clarified that the Delaware-based GHF, established in February 2025, is connected to their operation.
Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, there was another explosion...
TRIAL International, a Swiss NGO, has asked Swiss authorities to investigate the Geneva-based GHF to determine if it complied with Swiss law and international humanitarian standards. The group filed two submissions on May 20 and 21, calling for regulatory scrutiny of the foundation’s activities.
It’s also unclear who is funding the GHF, which claims to have more than $100 million in commitments from a foreign government donor but has not named the donor.
Wood said it received a small amount of seed money from unnamed non-Israeli businessmen. The foundation said in a statement that a Western European country had donated over $100 million but declined to name the country, according to the Times.
The foundation published a 14-page document detailing their distribution plan, including the names of those leading the project. Two American companies, Safe Reach Solutions (S.R.S.) and UG Solutions, were selected to serve as on-site contractors.
Israel says it must take control of aid distribution, arguing that Hamas and other snuffies siphon off supplies and that some aid organizations have been infiltrated by terror groups. Aid workers deny there is a significant diversion of aid to terrorists, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution.
Aid groups have been pushing back on the GHF and Israel’s plans to take over the handling of food aid, saying it could forcibly displace large numbers of Paleostinians by pushing them toward the distribution hubs and that the foundation can’t meet the needs of the Paleostinians in Gaza.
In blow to Israel-backed Gaza aid effort, CEO of group tasked with managing it resigns
[IsraelTimes] Future of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation uncertain after CEO Jake Wood says project doesn’t abide by humanitarian principles; Trump suggests truce talks moving in right direction
The CEO of the new Israeli- and US-backed organization that was supposed to begin managing the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza in the coming days has resigned.
“I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people, address security concerns about diversion, and complement the work of longstanding NGOs in Gaza,” Gaza Humanitarian Foundation CEO Jake Wood said in a statement on Sunday.
“However, it is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon,” he added.
GHF was created earlier this year as Israel tried to advance a new mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza, while preventing its diversion by Hamas, which Israel accuses of siphoning off aid, hoarding supplies, and selling it in markets to pay its operatives.
Israel wanted to create a small number of distribution sites in southern Gaza where pre-selected family representatives would be able to pick up a heavy box full of food for their families in a zone secured and operated by American private contractors.
While technically an American company, GHF was established in close coordination with Israeli authorities in order to manage the new aid initiative.
However, GHF still needed support and cooperation from existing humanitarian organizations as it sought to gain credibility on the ground.
That backing has yet to come, though, with the UN and other international organizations in Gaza vowing not to cooperate with GHF, arguing that its aid initiative violates humanitarian principles by requiring Gazans to walk long distances in order to retrieve aid and limiting distribution to southern Gaza in what would forcibly displace the Palestinian population.
There were also questions about GHF’s funding, which has not been transparent, along with a memo it sent out to potential donors that named two individuals on its leadership who said they weren’t involved in the initiative and admitted to only being able to initially feed 60 percent of Gaza’s population.
Wood, a former Marine and social entrepreneur, tried to dispel concerns when he announced that Israel had agreed to GHF’s demands to allow for the establishment of additional distribution sites throughout Gaza and to restart the distribution of aid through existing mechanisms last week until GHF is operational on the ground.
A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel last week that GHF’s target date for beginning operations was this weekend, but that did not happen.
Further complicating matters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said last week that in the third stage of Israel’s aid operations, distribution would be limited to a small area in southern Gaza secured by the IDF — in what would go against Wood’s assertion that he would not limit distribution to one part of the Strip.
Wood said he was approached about leading GHF two months ago due to his experience in humanitarian operations and stressed that he sought to “establish it as a truly independent humanitarian entity.”
“Like many others around the world, I was horrified and heartbroken at the hunger crisis in Gaza and, as a humanitarian leader, I was compelled to do whatever I could to help alleviate the suffering,” he said.
Wood’s resignation marks a major blow to Israel’s effort to resume aid in Gaza on its own terms, and it’s unclear whether GHF will be able to march on.
Among other challenges, Wood’s resignation is likely to bury chances for GHF to be able to fundraise from countries abroad, as the reasons he gave for stepping down appeared to echo fears voiced by the UN and international organizations already operating on the ground that were asked to cooperate with the foundation in order to ensure its success.
The American security contractors that GHF is working with arrived in Israel earlier this month in order to enter Gaza and begin managing the distribution sites.
While Wood appeared willing to work within the strict provisions set up by Israel, his resignation statement indicated that his flexibility had reached a limit.
“I urge Israel to significantly expand the provision of aid into Gaza through all mechanisms, and I urge all stakeholders to continue to explore innovative new methods for the delivery of aid, without delay, diversion or discrimination,” he said.
“I continue to believe the only sustainable path for the long-term is for Hamas to release all hostages, for there to be a cessation of hostilities, and a pathway for peace, security, and dignity for all people in the region.”
Wood’s resignation from GHF came days after Israel announced last week that it would start allowing a limited number of aid trucks to enter Gaza under the pre-existing mechanisms after more than two months of a total aid blockade.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says will begin delivering aid today, expresses regret over CEO’s resignation
| If the organization is built well, no one is irreplaceable. Well done, all! |
“We were disappointed to learn of Jake Wood’s sudden resignation as Executive Director of GHF. He has been a passionate advocate for the need to safely deliver humanitarian assistance to Gazans without diversion or delay, and achieved real progress for the entire humanitarian community in the short time he was involved in this effort. The fact that aid is beginning to trickle back into Gaza is a testament to his work,” the board says in a statement.
“Unfortunately, from the moment GHF was announced, those who benefit from the status quo have been more focused on tearing this apart than on getting aid in, afraid that new, creative solutions to intractable problems might actually succeed,” the statement reads.
“We will not be deterred. Our trucks are loaded and ready to go. Beginning Monday, May 26, GHF will begin direct aid delivery in Gaza, reaching over one million Palestinians by the end of the week. We plan to scale rapidly to serve the full population in the weeks ahead,” GHF says.
There is no immediate comment from the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which coordinates the supply of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Related:
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: 2025-05-21 Israel allows UN to bring 93 aid trucks into Gaza as international pressure mounts
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: 2025-05-19 Huge protest in The Hague demands Dutch government draw ‘red line’ on Gaza war
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: 2025-05-18 Head of controversial Israel-backed Gaza aid group says ‘plan isn’t perfect, but feeds people’
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: 2025-05-21 Israel allows UN to bring 93 aid trucks into Gaza as international pressure mounts
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: 2025-05-19 Huge protest in The Hague demands Dutch government draw ‘red line’ on Gaza war
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: 2025-05-18 Head of controversial Israel-backed Gaza aid group says ‘plan isn’t perfect, but feeds people’