In the face of mounting criticism from international organizations, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce pushed back against detractors of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a newly established aid mechanism aimed at circumventing Hamas and delivering assistance directly to Gaza’s civilians.
“It is unfortunate, because the issue here is giving aid to Gaza, and then suddenly it moves into complaints about style or the nature of who’s doing it,” Bruce said last week in response to questions from reporters. She further denounced the backlash as “the height of hypocrisy.” Emphasizing the core mission of the initiative, Bruce added, “The real story here is that aid, and food, is moving into Gaza at a massive scale.” She continued, “When you’re looking at 8,000 food boxes, was this going to be like going to the mall or through a drive-through? No, it wasn’t. This is a complicated environment, and the story is the fact that it’s working.”
Despite this progress, the United Nations has openly declined to cooperate with the GHF, citing concerns over neutrality, independence, and impartiality. Various non-governmental organizations have echoed these objections, raising questions about the structure and governance of the new system.
Nevertheless, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, pointed to the GHF as an essential lifeline for Gaza’s civilians, especially given what he described as the ongoing and widespread theft of humanitarian supplies by Hamas. In a video statement shared on his X account, Ambassador Leiter drew attention to the need for a secure and effective delivery method for aid.
“Much has been discussed about the urgent need among Gazan civilians for humanitarian aid,” Ambassador Leiter noted. “While Israelis have sent their sons and daughters to fight the Hamas terrorists who started the war on October 7th, Israel has simultaneously been providing humanitarian aid — 70-90% of which has been hijacked by Hamas to be sold on the black market.”
The ambassador condemned what he called Hamas’s calculated exploitation of humanitarian systems, saying that the terrorist organization has enriched itself while denying critical resources to the population it claims to represent. This misappropriation has severely hindered international efforts to provide meaningful support on the ground.
“Luckily, our friends in the Trump administration have joined forces with us to facilitate an aid mechanism that bypasses Hamas and ensures that only Gazan civilians receive it,” Ambassador Leiter added. The GHF is structured to operate independently of Hamas control, with aid routed through tightly managed channels that aim to reach recipients without diversion.
So far, the results are notable: the GHF has already distributed 8.5 million meals. According to Ambassador Leiter, the foundation is gearing up to expand its capacity even further in the coming weeks, with a focus on widening its reach to more people in need.
In summarizing Israel’s broader objectives, Leiter stated, “If you take away the political and military power away from the murderous idea of Hamas, they will ultimately crumble, collapse and be destroyed.”
{Matzav.com}