GHF DISTRIBUTION CENTER, Gaza Strip – Hamas, the United Nations, and many in the media accuse Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza and creating a famine. Yet, one organization in cooperation with Israel is working to directly feed Gazans with millions of meals. CBN News had a firsthand look at the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in action.
We made our way during a 15-minute ride across the Keren Shalom crossing from Israel to the distribution site. The journey took us through most of the town of Rafah and along the border with Egypt.
We arrived, anticipating that about 8,000 people would be coming for their daily food.
One thing that makes GHF unique is that it provides fresh produce, very valuable to the people of Gaza. The fare includes potatoes and onions, and another portion of food that comes in boxes for those in need. The box provides 58 meals for three days. The box we examined included lentils, pasta, and sugar. Each family receives a box when they come to the distribution site.
The potatoes and onions come first for Gazans in the distribution area because of their value to the families, followed by the boxes that were lined up near a berm for distribution.
What makes the GHF program is that no one is buying food here. It’s all free, and especially these things that are so valuable: the onions and potatoes.
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The initiative all began in May, when U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced it to the world at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
“All of you are aware of the fact that President Trump has made very clear that one of the most urgent things that needs to happen is humanitarian aid into Gaza,” Huckabee said. “So, today we are announcing that that process is ongoing, is launched.”
President Donald Trump gave two key directives in backing the effort.
“The first is that food be distributed efficiently, but also that it’s distributed safely inside Gaza to the people that desperately need it,” he said. The other factor, and this is an important one: that all of this be done in such a way that Hamas is not able to get their hands on it. Previous actions have often been met with Hamas stealing the food that was intended for hungry people. Nobody is interested in helping Hamas.”
GHF Executive Chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore told a recent gathering that GHF reflects the American values of peace through strength.
He described it as, “Strength in service of mercy. Power in defense of the powerless. Resolve in the face of chaos. And I’ve seen this firsthand every single day as the chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. In my role as Executive Chairman, I’ve seen up close when American principles meet the world’s most intractable problem.”
Moore added, “And that’s what GHF is doing every single day on the ground in Gaza. We’re not doing it with weapons. We do it with trucks and with food and with conviction. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was built in an image of this American resolve. We didn’t wait for the United Nations’ permission because men, women, and children in Gaza could not afford to wait any longer.”
Moore admits the effort has come with a cost.
“We lost 12 local aid workers. Hamas brutally murdered them,” he stated. “They injured dozens more, and to make a point, they piled them in front of one of the only hospitals still operating in the Gaza Strip, guarded them and, within earshot of the hospital, and refused them any medical treatment whatsoever.”
Because of Hamas’s death threats to aid workers, the people receiving aid, and some GHF employees, we must blur their faces in the video.
Moore also pointed to the relentless disinformation campaign GHF faces.
He branded them “Profane attacks designed to destroy our credibility, to incite extremists, to discourage our partners.”
He added, “But when establishment media and international organizations spread these false narratives about GHF, they’re not attacking us. They’re attacking the hungry children we feed. And instead of lying, they should just help us, because there’s another rule of life. If Hamas is attacking you, it probably means you’re doing the right thing, even if the UN Secretary-General is on their side.”
Back on the ground, a green flag tells waiting Gazans the distribution site is open. It’s a mad rush of thousands of mostly young men and boys. GHF calls it “controlled chaos.”
About 15 minutes after the distribution began, we could see that most of the people were men. Soon after, the women came.
Since the Gaza Humaniitarian Foundation began about three months ago, they’ve distributed more than 130 million meals in some of the most challenging conditions anywhere for distributing humanitarian aid. They’re vilified by many, but not by the people receiving the food.
One woman told us what the aid means to her.
“I am safe. I am good. I can eat today,” she remarked. Thank you for everyone working on this project. Thank you for all of them.”
GHF Spokesman Chapin Fay told us, “You can see some smiling faces. Certainly, these are desperate, hungry people. And, we are not enough. Our critics say that we’re not enough. We agree. We were never meant to meet this. We were never meant to meet this need alone. We would love to work with other NGOs, and the United Nations to scale both our operations safely and securely.”
Some media reports say the distribution sites are death traps. Yet, Fay asserts that reports of hundreds of people being killed at their distribution sites are untrue.
“Well, number one, there are no casualties on our sites,” he said. “We’ve never had a casualty. Our security professionals have never fired their weapons at anyone. We’re here to feed people. We’ve done so to the tune of over 130 million meals in less than three months. Yesterday, we’ll hit probably 130, 132 today.”
Fay continued, “As you can see, this is yet another successful distribution. Over the last month, they have been running much more smoothly, much more securely and efficiently, and safely. And we plan to get better and better every day and feed more and more people every day.”
After the controlled chaos of many of the men coming in to receive humanitarian aid, the GHF, just about a month ago, developed a plan where the women would wait a little longer and would get individual food for themselves and their families.
One GHF operations manager, who needs to remain anonymous, told CBN News, “I mean, it’s an emotional event every time I’m down at one of these. It’s thrilling. Scary. But from an impact standpoint, I don’t know if there’s any place on earth I’d rather be. And I wish I could start doing this a lot sooner.”
He continued, “I mean, it’s a it’s a mission. It’s, obviously, we’re employees and there’s and there’s a benefit for being here. But, to be a service member who’s retired and (to) actually have purpose again, people to use some of the skills that we have to do something totally different, completely different, and stable. It’s an amazing opportunity, and it’s something that’s once in a lifetime.”
On the ground, the GHF has organized a security team, logistics experts, aid workers, and more, with one mission.
The operations manager observed, “We’re just trying to get the aid out. I think what you see on the ground today is a reflection of what we’ve we’ve built towards. There’s been chaos, but within that chaos, it’s become more and more organized. And even now, behind me, you see the women that are lining up. We’re not telling them to do this. The Gazans have developed their own system, and all we have to do is feed that system.”
In the process, they’re developing a relationship with the people of Gaza.
“We get to know them and they get to know us,” one aid worker stated. “They understand our schedule. We understand their needs. And between those two things, we’re going to match a point where we certainly beat food insecurity. There’s a long road ahead of us, but we’re on the right path.”
Jonathan Conricus, senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told us the GHF is proving itself.
“It’s, tough, crucial. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has shown, through the leadership of Reverend Johnny Moore and many other professionals, brave American patriots and professionals that work in that organization, that it is possible to provide clean, healthy, dignified food to civilians in Gaza without Hamas or corrupt U.N. organizations profiting from it,” Conricus declared.
He added, “And you know, there’s been an ongoing slander campaign led by U.N. institutions and with a lot of complicity in international media against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. You can see that through their steadfastness and their commitment to the mission. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been able to withstand that. And today, they are on the ground. There are four active centers, and others are being built and prepared. Hundreds of thousands of meals are being delivered every day.”
Conricus contends that GHF presents a serious threat to Hamas.
He suggested, “If anything will bring Hamas down, I think it is the combination of there being an alternative for distribution of food, military pressure by Israel, and the three countries that support Hamas and give Hamas the lifeline and diplomatic and financial cover that they currently enjoy.”
One of the demands by Hamas in recent negotiations was to shut down the GHF because it represents a threat to the terror group’s monopoly on aid coming into the Gaza Strip. It’s estimated that last year, Hamas made $500 million by looting and selling aid coming into Gaza.
Chapin Fay noted, “As you can see, this is yet another successful distribution. Over the last month, they have been running much more smoothly, much more securely and efficiently, and safely. And we plan to get better and better every day and feed more and more people every day.”
Fay explained that the foundation provides an alternative to other aid distribution by the U.N. and other organizations that has been stolen by Hamas.
“You see Hamas riding around with armed men, stealing the aid, and taking it,” Fay insisted. “We believe Hamas made $1 billion during this war alone. And that’s why we’re here. We are doing it, in a way – we’re feeding people in a way that Hamas or anyone else cannot steal it.
“In the month of July, only 6.5 percent of their (UN) aid got to where it was supposed to be,” Fay told us. “That’s a 93.5 percent diversion rate.” Fay added that 90 percent of GHF aid gets distributed.
The GHF personnel on the ground are hoping they can add significantly to the millions of meals they have distributed so far.
“A lot of that is going to be dependent on the safety of the people,” the operations manager said. “That’s foremost on our mind. It would solve a lot of the problems of overcrowding.”
Despite the dangers, slanders, and challenges, this manager tells CBN News how most of them feel.
“I think we’re just happy to be here. Thrilled to be here. It’s a worthwhile endeavor, and to be an American and to have this experience is a great honor.”`
