GHF Rejects Hamas Claims of Chaos at Gaza Aid Sites

Thursday, 29 May 2025 | Rafah, Gaza Strip—The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US and Israel-backed aid initiative, has firmly denied reports of deaths and widespread injuries at its aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip, calling the claims “false” and accusing Hamas and other groups of spreading disinformation to undermine its operations.  

GHF stated that only two individuals have required medical attention at its compound since operations began three days ago, one for dehydration and another who was injured by others seeking aid. The organization explicitly rejected claims of fatalities and mass chaos, including a report alleging five deaths at a distribution site. “Hamas and other parties are bent on GHF failing and spreading false reports in order to harm the US and Israeli-backed organization,” GHF said in a statement. The group also denied halting operations due to alleged gunfire at one of its sites, urging journalists to verify sources before publishing unconfirmed reports. 

The controversy stems from a tumultuous week in Gaza, where the Hamas-run health ministry claimed one person was killed and 48 others injured during a riot on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, when shots were fired at a crowd near an aid distribution point. The United Nations Human Rights office reported that 47 people were injured by “gunshots” at GHF-managed sites, though it did not specify a location, provide evidence or assign blame. In reply, an Israeli military spokesman, Colonel Olivier Rafowicz, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Israeli soldiers fired warning shots into the air outside a GHF distribution center and did not target civilians. “Hamas is doing everything to prevent humanitarian aid,” Rafowicz added. 

The GHF, which began operations in Gaza this week, has distributed approximately 14,550 food boxes across two sites, enough to provide 840,262 meals, according to its statement. Each box is designed to feed 5.5 people for 3.5 days, and the organization plans to open additional sites in the coming weeks. Despite these efforts, aid organizations operating in Gaza have criticized GHF’s model, without offering specifics on how it is failing. Since March 1, 2025, aid was blocked from entering Gaza, with Israel claiming that Hamas had been stealing supplies delivered during a six-week ceasefire. 

The Trump administration has thrown its weight behind GHF, with a senior official praising the group’s “bold, out-of-the-box efforts” to deliver aid while blasting the United Nations for refusing to cooperate. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a post on X dated May 28, 2025, expressed support for the GHF efforts to deliver aid directly to Gazan civilians, emphasizing a strategy to bypass Hamas. Rubio described the GHF’s approach as an “unconventional effort” to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches those in need without interference from the militant terror group. The administration plans to encourage international funding for GHF once it proves successful. 

The UN claims the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, and has pointed to restricted aid as a key issue. Israeli authorities, including Colonel Rafowicz, have stated that Hamas’s persistent theft of aid supplies only significantly worsened the crisis and that the controls the GHF has put in place make the distribution of aid far more effective for Gaza’s civilians.