Gaza Humanitarian Foundation director resigns, citing lack of independence

26/5/2025 12:07

The head of a U.S.-backed private humanitarian organization that is tasked with distributing aid in Gaza using an Israeli-initiated plan resigned on Sunday.

Jake Wood, a former U.S. Marine and the executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the past two months, said in a statement that he resigned because the organization could not adhere "to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon."



No humanitarian assistance has been delivered to Gaza since March 2, and a global hunger monitor has warned that half a million people face starvation - a quarter of the population in the enclave where Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas have been at war since October 2023.



Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies, and is blocking humanitarian deliveries to Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages taken in its attack on Israel.



The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, created in February, has been highly criticized by the United Nations, whose officials have said the foundation's aid distribution plans would only foment forced relocation of Palestinians and more violence.