Pro-Palestinian activists reportedly spray-painted “Death to the GHF” on the driveway of John Acree, acting director of U.S. aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, at his Virginia home and vandalized his car, according to multiple sources.
BREAKING: Pro-Palestinian activists vandalized the Virginia home of John Acree, acting director of U.S. aid group GHF — slashing his tires and spray-painting “Death to GHF.”
Islamists are trying to murder someone feeding Gazans, simply because the food isn’t reaching Hamas. pic.twitter.com/rwpGUZHL4b
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) August 12, 2025
The GHF has repeatedly asked the United Nations to join it in its mission of feeding the people of Gaza, as United Nations trucks are routinely looted by Hamas terrorists intent on starving the people of Gaza in order to create a public outcry against Israel, but the United Nations has rebuffed them time and again.
On August 4, Acree released a public statement on video explaining his fervent desire to feed the people of Gaza and his frustration at the United Nations’ refusal to work in tandem with GHF.
“I’m an American and a lifelong humanitarian leader, starting with the Peace Corps in the early 80s and continuing throughout my career,” he began. “I’ve served the United States in some of the world‘s most disadvantaged countries and complex crisis zones, leading response efforts in active war zones, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, in the aftermath of devastating natural disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean, and amid collapsing political systems in Pakistan and Tajikistan.”
“At GHF, I’m proud to lead a team that shows up every single day with one mission: to feed people,” he continued. “Not to take sides, not to take credit, just to save lives. Since launching food delivery operations, we’ve delivered more than 105 million meals safely and directly to Palestinian civilians in need. We built a secure and affecting distribution model that works, and we’re scaling it to reach even more people faster. This is hard work. It’s dangerous work, but it’s the right work and I’m proud to do it alongside our Palestinian partners, our US colleagues, and the international allies committed to keeping food from becoming another victim of politics.”
He referred to the Hamas forces stealing food, saying, “We all share the same passion to help the hungry Palestinians. In recent weeks, we’ve witnessed scenes no humanitarian should ever have to witness: the United Nations aid convoys looted in broad daylight, aid workers endangered on unprotected trucks, and above all, breakdown and access to life-saving assistance for the people of Gaza. This chaos is not just tragic; it’s unacceptable. Since the United Nations resumed its vital mission to deliver aid in Gaza in May, the effort has been consistently undermined by a harsh and dangerous reality on the ground: lawlessness, the presence of armed gangs, and the absence of a functioning civil order.”
“As a result, too many people in desperate need, children, families, the elderly, are going without aid at precisely the moment their need is greatest,” he pointed out.
“But I’m here to say today there is a better way; one that helps the UN fulfill its humanitarian mandate while also adapting to the evolving conditions on the ground,” he declared. “That way is, specifically, a partnership between the United Nations and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This partnership could take several practical forms. First, operational support and escorting. GHF can provide logistical support to UN convoys to help ensure aid reaches its destination safely. And we can advise on timing and potential routes. Second: distribution of existing aid. Much of the UN’s aid stock is already inside Gaza, but it’s sitting idle. We can move it to our SDS sites today and tomorrow. Using our secure, proven distribution networks and with the access to their aid, we can expand our access points across Gaza, including hopefully the north. Finally, community-based expansion. Together, we can reestablish neighborhood-level trust and access, expanding food delivery to areas that are currently out of reach or too dangerous for centralized distribution. There are likely other ways we can support the United Nations that would come to life if they came to the table and engaged with us, but so far they have not.”
He then explained how GHF had repeatedly tried to reach out to the UN:
On June 4 we met in person with senior leaders from the United Nations’ World Food Program, deputy executive Director Carl Skau and Country Director Antoine Renard to present practical proposals for how GHF could help deliver their food to civilians in Gaza. Unfortunately the meeting was cut short by the WFP before our ideas to be discussed.
On June 24 we sent a letter to (UN) Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez, urging direct collaboration and stating what remains true today: The UN has the means, GHF has the mechanism, what remains is simply the will. We followed up again on July 22, writing to Under-Secretary Tom Fletcher to reiterate our commitment to partnership. On July 23 GHF made the offer to deliver all of United Nations sitting in Gaza for free given the situation on the ground.
And most recently we were planning a meeting with the UN originally scheduled for today. Unfortunately, that meeting was obstructed by some within the UN system and is no longer taking place.
“Despite this repeated outreach, the United Nations continues to struggle to get aid to those in need; their trucks are looted, by their own figures, at a rate of 95%. That’s their own figures,” he noted. “Hundreds of truckloads sit inside Gaza; cleared, stocked, but untouched. GHF has offered to deliver that aid for free, as I’ve mentioned. We’ve asked the UN to join us on the ground side-by-side; so far, they’ve declined.”
“If there was a time to adapt, to innovate, and above all to partner, it is now. We urge the UN to join us in … a new way forward. Together we can break through the chaos and deliver hope where it is needed most,” he concluded.
???? WATCH:
In today's briefing, GHF Executive Director John Acree shares what collaboration could look like if the @UN accepted our offer of partnership. pic.twitter.com/Wzy0jtTovF
— Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (@GHFUpdates) August 4, 2025