The Trump administration has authorized providing $30 million to a U.S.- and Israeli-backed group distributing aid in Gaza, the State Department announced Thursday.
“We have approved funding for $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and we call on other countries to also support the GHF, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and its critical work,” State Department spokesman Tommy Piggot said in a press briefing. “A track record of over 46 million meals distributed to date, all while preventing Hamas’ looting, is absolutely incredible and should be commended and supported.”
The American-led Gaza Humanitarian Foundation applied for the money to the U.S. Agency for International Development last week. The process moves forward as the Trump administration absorbs USAID into the State Department as part of the administration’s cuts of foreign aid.
“From day one, we said we are open to creative solutions that securely provide aid to those in Gaza and protects Israel,” Piggot said. “The support is simply the latest iteration of President Trump’s and Secretary Rubio’s pursuit of peace in the region.”
The authorization is the first known U.S. government funding for the foundation’s aid distribution efforts in Gaza. The group began distributing aid in late May and says it has provided more than 40 million meals in southern Gaza.
“Months of conflict have collapsed traditional relief channels in Gaza, leaving millions of civilians without reliable access to food, water, and other necessary supplies,” a May memo from the foundation said. “Aid diversion, active combat, and restricted access have prevented life-saving assistance from reaching the people it is meant to serve and eroded donor confidence. GHF was established to restore that vital lifeline through an independent, rigorously-audited model that gets assistance directly — and only — to those in need.”
The foundation’s operating model includes four secure distribution sites, each built to continuously serve 300,000 people, according to the memo.
While Israel backs the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as a replacement for systems coordinated by the U.N. and international aid groups, the foundation has drawn criticism from humanitarian groups and the U.N., which accuse the foundation of cooperating with Israel’s objectives in the war in a way that violates humanitarian principles.
The foundation has denied allegations of violent attacks near aid distribution sites.
“Our GHF news monitoring continues to reveal inaccurate news coverage by international media outlets linking GHF sites to violent incidents that did not occur near our sites, but in fact occurred at United Nations’ convoy sites or other humanitarian groups who operate near our site,” the foundation said in an email to media.