Trump administration pushes controversial Gaza relief plan on UN

The Trump administration and Israel have backed a plan to enlist a newly established Geneva-based foundation to run humanitarian operations in Gaza, effectively ending the United Nations’ role as the primary coordinator of humanitarian assistance for the besieged Palestinian population of over 2 million people, according to several diplomatic and humanitarian sources. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, provided an overview to the U.N. Security Council on U.S. efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Witkoff and his team have also held meetings with David Beasley, a former South Carolina governor who served as executive director of the World Food Programme, to participate in the foundation’s project, according to a source familiar with the matter. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Beasley had also been urged by Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, to participate in the project. Axios first reported on Witkoff’s outreach to Beasley. During the council meeting, Witkoff told foreign delegates that he was disappointed that the U.N. relief agencies had put out public statements opposing the plan without engaging directly in talks over an alternative to the U.N. run operations. He said the U.S. wants this to work and it needs the rest of the international community to get on board and participate in finding a solution, according to a source familiar with the closed-door meeting. A newly formed entity called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, drafted a plan that would establish four "Secure Distribution Sites” — each with the capacity to provide food rations, drinkable water, blankets, and other humanitarian supplies to 300,000 Gazans. Over time, the foundation vowed to reach all 2 million Gazans. The plan resembles a proposal Israel informally discussed with U.N. aid agencies, according to a humanitarian source familiar with the discussion. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told reporters in Jerusalem on Friday that plans were underway to use private security contractors to deliver lifesaving aid in Gaza. He said President Trump had instructed his team "to do everything possible to accelerate that and as expeditiously as possible get humanitarian aid into the people," BBC reported. "The Israelis are going to be involved in providing necessary security because this is a war zone,” Huckabee said. “But they will not be involved in the distribution of the food, or even the bringing of food into Gaza." “GHF’s mission is to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s civilian population by delivering life-saving aid safely, securely, and in strict adherence to humanitarian principles — ensuring assistance reaches those most in need, without diversion or delay,” according to a foundation paper circulating in U.N. circles and shared with Devex. “In a region defined by complexity, GHF offers a new approach based on independent operations, rigorous oversight, and experienced leadership drawn from humanitarian, diplomatic, and security fields.” U.S. diplomats on Thursday urged representatives of the U.N. and private relief organizations to participate in an alternative delivery plan, according to relief officials familiar with the exchange. Though it remains unclear whether the U.S. referred specifically to GHF in the meeting. The Washington Post first reported on the U.S. meetings in New York and Geneva. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the plan. The paper said the organization’s board of directors includes Nate Mook, former CEO of World Central Kitchen. Beasley is listed as a member of the advisory board — though it says his participation has not been finalized — along with Bill A. Miller, a former U.S. and U.N. security expert, and Ret. Lt. Gen. Mark C. Schwartz, a former U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The move coincides with a massive deterioration of humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Israel has imposed a near-total siege on the Palestinian enclave over the past two months, and U.N. and humanitarian relief agencies have been largely blocked. In recent days, Israel has reportedly been floating a proposal to have Israeli forces secure and monitor the distribution of aid through a series of hubs inside Gaza. But U.N. aid agencies have refused to participate in the plan. “Israeli officials have sought to shut down the existing aid system run by 15 UN agencies and 200 NGOs and partners, said Jens Laerke, Geneva-based spokesperson for the U.N. Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “It appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaponize the aid and we have warned against that for a very long time. Aid should be provided based on humanitarian need to whomever needs it.” Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, told reporters on Thursday that the U.N. had not been informed of the content of the U.S. briefing to the 15-member Security Council. But he said the plans Israel has presented to the U.N. in recent days “thus far appears designed to further control and restrict supplies down to the last calorie and the last grain of flour." "The secretary-general has made it clear that the U.N. will not engage in any arrangement that fails to uphold the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality," he said. "It appears the design of a plan presented by Israel to the humanitarian community will increase ongoing suffering of children and families in the Gaza Strip," UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said Friday, noting that he believed the foundation plan was simply an element of the overall Israeli plan. He noted that the plan — which would involve setting up a “safe zone” in southern Gaza — treated “humanitarian aid as a bait to force displacement.” Any serious relief operation in Gaza would depend on the involvement of U.N. aid agencies and scores of private relief agencies that serve the territory. Witkoff’s visit to the U.N. was aimed at rallying support for it. “To expand reach and increase efficiency, GHF seeks to partner with NGOs, UN agencies, and civil society organizations to facilitate the movement and distribution of their aid through GHF’s security distribution infrastructure,” the paper stated. “These partnerships will allow humanitarian organizations of all sizes to take advantage of GHF’s logistics, security, and transparency frameworks — ensuring their aid reaches intended beneficiaries without diversion or delay.” Under the plan, GHF would provide U.N. relief agencies and private charities with security and logistical support for the delivery of aid through the Port of Ashdod and the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza. It claims that the Israel Defense Forces will not be stationed near the aid hubs, thereby “maintaining the neutral and civilian-facing nature of operations.” “GHF’s logistics subcontractors will utilize armored vehicles to transport supplies to and from SDS locations,” the paper stated. “On-site and perimeter security will be provided by experienced professionals, including personnel who previously secured the Netzartim Corridor during the recent ceasefire. Their mandate is to deter interference from criminal networks or other armed groups who have historically sought to control or redirect humanitarian aid.” The foundation will explore the possibility of offering “safe lodging, showers, restrooms, and operating spaces for NGOS” operating in Gaza. It will conduct intensive data collection to gather “real-time feedback from beneficiaries, monitor outcomes against clear performance indicators, and use this data to continually refine and improve our operations.” The foundation portrayed the data collection effort as part of an effort to give confidence to donors that their contributions are being used to aid Palestinian civilians, and not diverted to criminal gangs or members of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European governments. But the question raised concerns among U.N. and privacy officials over how the data would be used, and whether it would be shared directly with the Israeli government. The foundation, according to the paper, is actively reaching out to local communities to generate support for its relief operations, and that overtime it will “train and employ additional local champions, allowing aid operations to expand deeper into underserved areas.” That effort, it continued, aims to “ethically empower traditional community leaders to reestablish constructive influence supporting the organic restoration of local communities.” Update, May 9, 2025: This article has been updated with additional reporting.