US firm withdraws from Gaza humanitarian aid effort amid backlash

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which assisted in the business operations of the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), has quit following mounting criticism over the organisation's aid delivery and distribution model. 

According to the Washington Post, the consulting firm withdrew its team operating in Tel Aviv on Friday, with a spokesperson for BCG indicating that the company had terminated its contract with GHF.  

Since launching operations last Tuesday, GHF has said - without providing evidence - that it handed out tens of thousands of food boxes to Palestinians, a fraction of what aid agencies say is needed to address the mass starvation unfolding in the Strip.

The new aid system, which limits food distribution to a small number of hubs guarded by American security contractors, seeks to wrest distribution away from aid groups led by the United Nations.