A Timeline of US-Israeli Aid Massacres: 10 days of the ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’
The US-Israeli ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ is not about aid; it’s a tactic of genocide. In its eight days of operation, it has facilitated the massacre of 110 Palestinians and the wounding of more
A timeline of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s operation in Gaza:
May 27
The ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’ (GHF) opened its first aid distribution point in Rafah. US mercenaries forced starved Palestinians into barricades in an image many have hauntingly compared to the Nazi holocaust. Not only was this a dehumanizing charade that forced thousands of people to traverse miles on foot, but it quickly became an opportunity for Israeli fire. US soldiers left the site via helicopter, leaving Israeli occupation soldiers to shoot at people waiting in line for food for their families. They killed three people, injured more than 46 others, and seven people are still missing.
May 28
On the second day, the GHF opened two aid distribution points in Rafah. Despite murdering three people the day before, the US-Israeli aid group said it was continuing without incident. The IOF shot and killed ten people and injured 62 others.
Tarek al-Farra, a teacher in Gaza, described it as a “suicide mission, to walk all this distance just to get a coupon.”
May 29
The US-Israeli aid group opened a new distribution point at the “Netzarim Corridor” in the center of Gaza. Many people were forced to walk more than three miles to get to this point, but once they arrived, they were trapped inside by tanks and armoured vehicles, turning this into a militarized zone. People were requesting help from the Red Cross to leave the area as occupation forces fired live ammunition at people. One person was killed and dozens were wounded.
May 30
Israeli occupation forces opened fire on a group of people waiting for food aid at a distribution center on Salah al-Din Street. They shot at people, killing three and wounding over 20 people.
Near Rafah city, Israeli snipers shot and wounded a person who was approaching the aid distribution point. US mercenaries are luring people to sites for food; they have been deliberately starved for three months, right into Israel’s line of fire.
May 31
Israel killed four people as they attempted to reach an aid site.
However, families raised alarm that their loved ones who went to get aid from the GHF’s distribution points in the days before were still missing and had not returned home. The al-Mughari family reported that their family member went to the distribution center near the “Netzarim Corridor” in central Gaza, but has not returned. Five people have been reported missing from the site in Rafah.
June 1
Israel committed a massacre at an aid distribution site in al-Mawasi, killing 49 people and wounding more than 200 others. Two people are missing. The IOF opened fire on people in line for food, using tanks to attack them. Mansour Sami Abdi, a father of four, was shot but survived the massacre: “ They told us to take food, then they fired from every direction. I ran 200 metres before realising I’d been shot. This isn’t aid. It’s a lie. Are we supposed to go get food for our kids and die?”
Mohammad Daghmeh, a 24-year-old, was also shot at the site: “I was shot at 3:10 am. As we were trapped, I bled constantly until 5:00 am. There were many other men with me. One of them tried to get me out. He was shot in the head and died on my chest. We had gone there for nothing but food — just to survive, like everyone else.”
June 2
Occupation soldiers opened fire on people reaching the aid site in Rafah. They killed 26 people and injured 92 more.
The killers said they shot at people who walked to try to reach food in a way that “endangered” soldiers.
June 3
Israel shot and killed 27 Palestinians as they tried to reach the aid distribution site in Rafah. They wounded 90 people, who tried to access treatment in overcrowded, medicine-stripped hospitals. As people walked towards the site in the al-Alam area, warplanes targeted and shot at the civilians.
Johnnie Moore is named Chair of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. He is a racist, fascist Evangelical Zionist preacher who is a proponent of Trump’s plans for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the “Riviera of the Middle East”. In February, he tweeted: “The USA will take full responsibility for the future of Gaza."
June 4
The GHF shut all aid distribution sites. They label the massacres of the past days as “fabricated”.
An IOF spokesperson said the areas around the aid distribution site were “combat zones” and told people not to move into those areas. Neither he nor the GHF has explained how people are supposed to reach the aid sites.
June 5
Aid sites were closed again.
June 6
The GHF sites have been shut for a third day, without any information from the organization. People travelled long distances to try to retrieve aid – but were shot at. Eight people were killed and 61 were injured.
Even after 19 months of this horrific holocaust, where the zionist entity has inflicted utter terror on the people of Palestine, somehow we are witnessing escalating depravities. This is all too reminiscent of Biden’s “humanitarian pier”. Another instance of a military apparatus used for killing under the guise of “humanitarianism”. This pier, costing millions of dollars, was dressed up as a generous effort by the Democratic administration to stop the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Its sole use was to commit a massacre in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which killed almost 300 people and wounded over 1000 others. The pier quietly and quickly went away after that.
This was almost one year ago to the date (8 June 2024). Now, the terrorist United States is using the exact same tactic to facilitate massacres and support the occupation of Gaza. The same lies and justifications are being used by genocide supporters: they repeatedly claim that the massacres at the distribution centers are “fictitious” and Hamas propaganda. This US-Israeli death squad is using aid to kill Palestinians, solidify the occupation of Gaza, all while denying their genocidal massacres.
The United Nations says Gaza’s entire population is now at risk of famine. Not only is this a US-Israeli-imposed famine, but they are also using this to justify an aid apparatus that has killed more than it has helped.
This was never about aid. There are thousands of aid trucks currently being blocked from entering Gaza at the Karem Abu Salem crossing, including at least 600 from the UN alone. Instead of letting this aid in, the US and Israel are refusing it, as their own aid distribution is a tactic of this genocidal campaign. The IOF is making the only aid available in the south of Gaza, in order to force people from the north to leave their homes. In their own words, they aim to make the north of Gaza a “completely depopulated area.” It further hands more control over Gaza to the Israeli occupation, a plan which necessitated attacks on aid organizations such as the United Nations.
This has been a horrific ten days of attacks using aid as a weapon. We knew this was coming, but this extent has been truly sickening. Using the ruse of aid, Israel and the US are forcing Palestinians to the south of Gaza and continuing to starve people in the north. While they continue to blockade Gaza and attack UNRWA, aid is being purposely and deliberately refused in order to justify this operation.
We must continue to highlight and challenge the use of “aid” and “humanitarian” when it comes from the US, Israel, and their allies. This is propaganda to justify genocide. Instead, we must demand answers about this mercenary front, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Who is funding it? Who is this registered to? Who is profiting from this? The GHF is registered with a registration agent in Delaware. There is no trace of their funding. It is registered under the name of an anonymous attorney. An Israeli lawmaker revealed that it is Israel that is funding the GHF.
This “aid” organization must be completely shut down. The US and Israel must end the blockade on Gaza, let the aid trucks in, and stop this genocide. US mercenaries out, US weapons out, US-backed Israel out.
Tell BBC: Publish Gaza: Medics Under Fire!
Nuvpreet is CODEPINK's Digital Content Produce & Bases Off Cyprus Campaign Coordinator
Nuvpreet is based in London, England. She completed a Bachelor’s in Politics & Sociology at the University of Cambridge, and an MA in Internet Equalities at the University of the Arts London. Her studies focused on racialised surveillance capitalism, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence as a weapon of war and settler colonialism. Nuvpreet joined CODEPINK as an intern in 2023, and now produces digital content, co-ordinates the Bases Off Cyprus campaign, and organises against imperialism in Britain.
👏 “challenge the use of “aid” and “humanitarian” when it comes from the US, Israel, and their allies. This is propaganda to justify genocide.” 👏