Lawsuit demands US reveal Gaza Humanitarian Foundation funding information
New York, New York - Rights advocates are suing the US State Department and USAID for information on the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose aid distribution points have been described as "death traps" for starving Palestinians.
The lawsuit – filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Center for Constitutional Rights – seeks the release of records on funding for the US-backed GHF after the agencies failed to comply with a FOIA request.
"There is substantial public interest in the US grant to and support of GHF," the complaint reads.
"As explained in the Request, GHF operates a militarized distribution model in Gaza in close coordination with Israel, the occupying power, in circumstances where international legal bodies, such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and a US federal court have acknowledged that the situation in Gaza plausibly involves the commission of atrocity crimes including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes."
The number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid has risen sharply since the GHF began operations in May, replacing established international delivery channels. Israeli forces regularly open fire on Gazans at GHF distribution points, which are run by US for-profit private military contractors.
UN experts and Human Rights Watch have condemned the GHF sites as "death traps," while human rights and legal organizations have urged the group to cease operations amid the Israeli-induced famine in Gaza.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation accused of contributing to war crimes
Concerns over the GHF's operations grew even more acute after retired US Army Special Forces officer Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar came forward with horrific accounts of his experience working for subcontractor UG Solutions on the supposed aid distribution mission.
Aguilar described the GHF locations as explicitly designed to forcibly displace Palestinians in Gaza.
"What I saw on the sites, around the sites, to and from the sites, can be described as nothing but war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of international law. This is not hyperbole. This is not platitudes or drama. This is the truth," he said during an appearance on Democracy Now.
Despite serious concerns over the aid scheme, the State Department in June announced a $30 million USAID grant for the GHF.
"Rather than take action to prevent GHF's ongoing contribution to war crimes, the US government has provided it with a $30 million grant, bypassing even its baseline vetting processes," Ayla Kadah, attorney and justice fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a press release.
"This shocks the conscience, and Americans deserve to know how their taxpayer dollars are being used to further this dangerous dimension of Israel's genocidal project."
Cover photo: REUTERS