GHF aid sites shut down as UN-led aid deliveries enter Gaza
Aid distribution sites run by the scandal-plagued Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) have been dismantled, as over 100 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday under the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Egyptian and regional officials told the Associated Press that food distribution hubs run by the US and Israeli contractor were being shut down under the terms of the deal.
Palestinian witnesses reported that three of the GHF-run sites, located in southern Gaza's Rafah and the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, had been abandoned.
Since the US- and Israel-backed GHF began operating in May, in an attempt to monopolise aid delivery and sideline the UN, Israeli soldiers have killed more than 2,500 Palestinian aid seekers at the distribution sites or as they gathered to await the arrival of aid trucks, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Al Jazeera reported that remnants of Israeli munitions that had been used to attack Palestinians were found at the abandoned sites.
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A GHF spokesperson said that the site closures were only "temporary" and that there would be "tactical changes" to its operations.
"There is no change to our long-term plan," the spokesperson added.
US officials cited by the AP did not say that they expect the foundation to halt its operations in Gaza, but also reported that there were currently no plans to continue its funding.
The officials hinted there could be a role for the GHF in supporting UN agencies in aid distribution.
'Much of Gaza is a wasteland'
Meanwhile, the UN is preparing to dramatically upscale deliveries into Gaza as it takes over aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave under the ceasefire agreement.
Gaza's government media office reported that 173 aid trucks entered the territory on Sunday.
It added that three trucks loaded with cooking gas and six with diesel fuel to run bakeries, generators and hospitals also crossed into Gaza.
But it warned that the current level of aid entering the territory falls far short of the amount required to address the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, and reiterated the urgent need for "a large, continuous and organised inflow of aid, fuel, cooking gas, and relief and medical supplies".
Under US President Donald Trump's plan for the Gaza ceasefire deal, 400 trucks will enter the strip daily. This is set to increase to 600 - the minimum number estimated by the UN required to meet the needs of Gaza's starving population.
The plan states that "the entry and distribution of aid into Gaza will proceed without interference", but Israeli administrative restrictions and bureaucracy have long hampered the flow of badly needed aid into the territory.
The UN has said it has 170,000 metric tonnes of aid stored in warehouses outside Gaza, ready for mass distribution in the enclave.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the AP that deliveries were already falling below the level they had hoped for, adding that the UN planned to bring thousands of tonnes of aid into the enclave, along with fuel.
He said it would also restore medical services and remove rubble in the coming months.
"Much of Gaza is a wasteland," Fletcher said. "But I'm absolutely determined that we will not fail... We will strain every sinew to deliver for the people of Gaza."
While the large-scale aid distribution will be led by the United Nations, the role of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, in the operation remains unclear.
Unrwa said half the supplies stored in warehouses outside Gaza belong to the agency, insisting that its scope and expertise is "absolutely critical in controlling the spread of famine".
An estimated 460 Palestinians have died from Israeli-imposed starvation since it launched its genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
In August, the global hunger monitor officially declared famine had taken hold in Gaza due to the Israeli stranglehold on aid relief.
The UN children's agency, Unicef, warned that there is a risk of a "massive spike in child death, not only neonatal, but also infants, given their immune systems are more compromised than ever before".
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