Scoop: U.S. brokers meeting between UN and Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
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Displaced Palestinians make their way back from a GHF distribution site. Photo: AFP via Getty
Senior UN aid officials met Wednesday with the chair of the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, marking their first direct engagement since the foundation began operating in Gaza in late May, according to a U.S. official and two other sources with direct knowledge.
Why it matters: The U.S.-brokered meeting at the UN mission in New York came after months of bitter public exchanges between the UN and the GHF, as Gaza spirals deeper into starvation.
- Israel blocked the UN and its partner organizations from bringing any aid into Gaza for two months prior to the launch of the foundation, and it's continued to restrict most aid except what is flowing through the GHF.
- As Israel prepares for a new offensive, the Trump administration wants to expand GHF's operations in Gaza and push the UN to cooperate with the organization.
- Prior to Wednesday's meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had instructed senior UN officials not to engage with the GHF, according to the sources.
Behind the scenes: The meeting took place on Wednesday afternoon at the U.S. mission to the UN.
- U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus participated alongside GHF chair Johnnie Moore and representatives of the World Food Program, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Red Cross.
- Sources with knowledge of the meeting said the political and personal sensitivities led to unusual ground rules: No phones were allowed in the meeting, and it was held under "Chatham House Rules" — meaning nothing in the meeting could be attributed to its participants.
- The participants were also asked in advance to commit to a respectful and polite discussion, the sources said.
No decision was made on cooperation in Gaza, according to the sources.
- The only decision in the meeting was for both sides to de-escalate public attacks in the media against each other.
- A spokesperson for the UN declined to comment, as did Moore.
Driving the news: Israel pushed for the establishment of the GHF partially to replace the UN and its aid agencies in Gaza and to try to prevent Hamas from diverting aid.
- The UN and its aid agencies argue the GHF doesn't adhere to the humanitarian principle of neutrality, and they warned that its operations are endangering Palestinian civilians who must cross Israeli military lines to reach the GHF aid centers.
- Over the last two months, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed on their way to the aid centers and at least 20 more in the aid centers themselves, per the UN.
- Meanwhile, the GHF has accused the UN of failing to distribute aid properly and claimed that many Palestinians have been killed in stampedes during UN-led aid delivery because of disorder and logistical failures.
