New foundation will lead aid distribution in Gaza, US State Department says

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A new humanitarian foundation will soon be launched to deliver desperately needed food aid into Gaza, the US State Department said on Thursday.

An official announcement about the non-government “charitable foundation” is imminent, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said, noting that the organisation would provide food in a way that ensures it does not end up with Hamas,

“We welcome moves to quickly get urgent food aid into Gaza in a way … that the food aid actually gets to those to whom it's intended,” Ms Bruce told reporters. “It cannot fall into the hands of terrorists such as Hamas.”

Israel blocked all food and aid deliveries into Gaza after a ceasefire collapsed more than two months ago. The enclave's 2.3 million residents, already battered by 19 months of war, are now suffering through what many aid agencies describe as the worst starvation campaign in modern history.

Israel is locked in a dispute with aid groups over how future aid deliveries should be distributed. The UN and other aid organisations have rejected Israeli plans to deliver supplies through its own centres under conditions set by the military.

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff briefed members of the UN Security Council about the plan on Wednesday at the US mission in New York.

The new organisation will be called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which would be in charge of "Secure Distribution Sites", each built to serve 300,000 people, according to a document seen by Reuters and circulated among the aid community

“I was hoping to introduce it today, but the foundation will be announcing this shortly," Ms Bruce said.

Israel has accused agencies including the UN of letting aid to fall into the hands of Hamas, which it accuses of seizing supplies intended for civilians and using them for its own forces.