A despicable collaboration between private U.S. mercenaries and the IOF
Six hundred days into the escalated genocide of the Palestinian people and after a mass-starvation campaign and blockage of Gaza, the zionist regime, in coordination with its right-hand man– the U.S., commenced an superficial aid program. This program served two reasons: 1) to relieve international scrutiny of the zionists’ mass-starvation campaign, and 2) to herd the people of Gaza into a confined space in order to easily murder. Thus, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was created. The brutality and barbarism that immediately unfolded is unfathomable.
What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?
When the world was informed of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, we were told Palestinians in Gaza would receive a “basic amount of food”.(1) But the GHF quickly came under criticism by international aid groups and the U.N. It became obvious that the GHF were not even logistically able to provide aid to the 2 million people in Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released a statement, co-signed by 11 other humanitarian and human rights organizations, stating they unequivocally reject the [GHF], describing it as:
“A project led by politically connected Western security and military figures, coordinated in tandem with the Israeli government, and launched while the people of Gaza remain under total siege. It lacks any Palestinian involvement in its design or implementation.” (2)
The establishment of the GHF, with the heavy military presence around aid distribution sites, gave the IOF absolute control over aid distribution in Gaza. As soon as the GHF began distributing aid, the world immediately became aware that the whole thing was a farce as the IOF and private U.S. mercenaries began shooting and killing Palestinians who were forced to trek over 11 km (7mi) in search of food and aid. Aid had become weaponized at the hands of the U.S. and the zionist empire– a clear and obvious war crime.
Aid Site Locations
In the early hours of May 25, 2025, thousands of starving Palestinians initiated the long journey to the first GHF aid distribution site tens of kilometers away with the searing sun blazing down. While the previous United Nations-led distribution network operated about 400 sites across the Strip, the GHF, guarded by armed private security contractors working for a US company, has set up only four “mega-sites” for Gaza’s population of about two million Palestinians. (3)
Three of the distribution sites were located in Rafah– an area under evacuation orders from the IOF. The fourth was located in Gaza City, nearer to where Palestinians were sheltered.
Turmoil Unfolds
Large crowds, in their suffering and hope for food, began to arrive to these aid sites. As they approached the sites, they were forced into human cattle chutes– metal fences littered with surveillance cameras forming narrow walkways. Palestinians were then subjected to security procedures including ID checks and eye scans to determine if they were eligible for aid. The fact that identification was required to receive food while suffering from the inhumane siege and blockade was only the beginning of the cruelty that began to unfold that dreadful day. In response, the Palestinian people rightfully began to push through the fences, in desperation, to grab whatever food and aid they could.
IOF forces started firing, claiming they shot into the air in an attempt to control the crowd. However, several Palestinians were wounded by gunfire, proving the IOF and U.S. mercenaries shot directly into the crowd, and three were killed.
A humiliating amount of aid
The GHF claimed it distributed 8,000 food boxes that day, apparently adding up to 462,000 meals. However, Al Jazeera correspondent, Hind al-Khoundary said the rations would do little to sustain a family for long.
“We have been dying of starvation. We have to feed our children who want to eat. What else can we do? I could do anything to feed them,” a Palestinian father told Al Jazeera. “We saw people running, and we followed them, even if it meant taking a risk, and it was scary. But fear is not worse than starvation.”(4)
The most unfortunate reality is that this brutal treatment of Palestinians is nothing new to these people. The zionist regime have treated the Palestinian people as subhuman since the inception of the colonization of their land. The fact that the zionists and U.S. private military contractors have weaponized aid is such a way is a new unfurling of barbarism. This was only the first day; the events that came after and up to this day only saw increased levels of inhumane actions from the IOF and U.S. mercenaries.
Continued U.S. Support
For a full month from the first GHF site opening, a plethora of videos on social media and other non-western news outlets showed Palestinians being shot while trying to collect aid. (5) Some of which showed IOF soldiers and U.S. mercenaries celebrating after they shot innocent and starving Gazans. Despite these clear examples of untold amounts of cruelty, on June 27, 2025 the U.S. State Dept. stated that they approved $30m in direct funding for GHF. In other words, the U.S. contributed $30m to an organization that has murdered at least 549 starving Palestinians seeking their next meal.
This money would soon contribute to actions such as GHF trucks deliberately running over Palestinians while bodies lie nearby shot to death. As Atar Riyad, a father of eight originally from Beit Hanoon, described, “We went to only find death in front of us. There was nothing but death.” His best friend and neighbors were killed in front of his eyes. “All died as they tried to get food for their families,” he said. (6)
When will it End?
As of today, the weaponization of humanitarian aid by the occupational forces and private U.S. militias continues. A ceasefire agreement looked to be in the near future in mid June, but after the zionist state rejected a U.S.-mediated deal, of which Hamas agreed to, any chance for reprieve soon vanished. Every day Palestinians are forced to choose between dying from starvation or risking their lives for a minuscule amount of food for them and their families.
There seems to be no end in sight. We must do anything and everything we can to put an end to the war crimes of the zionist regime and the support flowing from our wallets and ports. Right in our backyard here in Jacksonville, we have Jaxport, where Maersk and Zim ship weapons and arms to the zionist murderers on a regular basis. JPSN is actively protesting these shipments and getting involved in Jaxport Board Meetings. In our next blog, we will be talking about this campaign, No Genocide out of Jaxport, and how you can get involved. Check back every week, and feel free to reach out to learn how you can get activated in your community and fight against the tyranny of U.S. and zionist imperialism.