Washington weighs $500,000 support for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The U.S. State Department is weighing a plan to allocate $500 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new organisation providing assistance in war-ravaged Gaza, according to two sources with direct knowledge and two former U.S. officials. If approved, the funding would significantly deepen U.S. involvement in a controversial aid initiative marked by violence, logistical failures, and mounting criticism.

According to the sources and former officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, the proposed funds would be routed through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is currently being absorbed into the State Department under a broader reorganisation.

The foundation's operations have drawn sharp scrutiny, and the plan is facing internal pushback from U.S. officials concerned about deadly incidents at distribution sites and questions surrounding GHF’s competence.

GHF, which began distributing aid last week, has been criticised by several humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, for what they describe as a lack of neutrality. Its launch came amid urgent warnings that the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents face the risk of famine, following an 11-week Israeli aid blockade that ended on May 19, allowing limited deliveries to resume.

In just its first week of operations, GHF has already faced serious setbacks. Senior personnel have resigned, and the foundation was forced to suspend aid handouts twice this week after crowds overwhelmed its distribution centres.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify who is currently financing GHF’s on-the-ground operations in Gaza. The foundation is using private U.S. security and logistics firms to handle the transport and delivery of aid at designated “secure” distribution sites.

On June 5, Reuters reported that McNally Capital, a Chicago-based private equity firm, holds an “economic interest” in the for-profit U.S. contractor tasked with managing security and logistics for GHF’s distribution hubs inside Gaza.

Although both the Trump administration and the Israeli government deny providing direct financial support to GHF, they have been pressuring the United Nations and other international aid agencies to collaborate with the foundation. Both governments have expressed distrust toward the long-established U.N. aid apparatus, alleging that humanitarian resources were siphoned off to Hamas—a claim Hamas has denied.

The restructuring of USAID under President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy agenda has already seen the dismantling of roughly 80 per cent of the agency’s programming and widespread staff terminations. Within this context, acting Deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has played a central role in overseeing the agency’s disbandment, is reportedly championing the proposal to provide the $500 million to GHF, according to one informed source and one former senior official.

One of the sources noted that the Israeli government had formally requested the funds to support GHF operations for a 180-day period. 

By Tamilla Hasanova