Israeli intelligence funding Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in bid to displace Palestinians

The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has been identified by the opposition lawmakers as the source of funding behind the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization reportedly created to facilitate Israel's controversial aid operations in Gaza.

According to The Washington Post, the foundation “has already secured $100 million from an undisclosed donor.” However, two senior Israeli opposition lawmakers claim the donor is the Israeli government itself, which is allegedly attempting to mask its involvement through the use of American mercenaries.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid has accused the Israeli government of funding “shell companies,” pointing to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Meanwhile, former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman stated that “the money for humanitarian aid comes from the Mossad and the Ministry of Defense.”

On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it has established four humanitarian aid distribution centers in Gaza, claiming they are run by international aid organizations under the protection of an unnamed US civilian security firm operating in the enclave.

In a move that bypasses the UN and international relief organizations, Tel Aviv is using the US-backed GHF as a cover to advance its policy of displacing Palestinians by promoting the group's aid distribution in so-called “buffer zones” in southern Gaza.

The GHF's involvement in an Israeli-controlled aid mechanism has raised concern among humanitarian actors who say meaningful relief requires large-scale sustained access.

Earlier, several Palestinians were injured by Israeli army fire when starving Gazans rushed into a US-backed aid distribution facility in the southern city of Rafah, local authorities said.

“The Israeli occupation's plan for aid distribution in the so-called buffer zone has failed disastrously,” Gaza's government media office said in a statement.

It said Israeli forces opened fire after thousands of starving Palestinians rushed into the aid distribution facility.

Israel has kept Gaza crossings closed to food, medical, and humanitarian aid since March 2, deepening an already severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,200 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against defenseless civilians in the enclave.