US firm quits Gaza aid group GHF as evangelical leader takes over World

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has pulled out of the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), intensifying scrutiny of an initiative mired in civilian deaths and widespread rejection by humanitarian agencies.

BCG, which helped design and manage GHF’s logistics, confirmed it terminated its contract and withdrew its team from Tel Aviv last week, according to a report by The Washington Post on Tuesday.

The firm had been central to building the aid model in coordination with Israeli authorities, setting payment rates and overseeing contractors responsible for constructing the foundation’s mere four distribution hubs in southern Gaza.

Its pullout comes as Israeli forces this week opened fire near a GHF aid site in Rafah, killing at least 27 Palestinians and injuring dozens more. Witnesses reported Israeli tank and helicopter fire as crowds of starving civilians scrambled for food.

GHF issued a statement distancing itself from the violence, saying the incident had reportedly occurred “well beyond” its secure area, but Palestinian medics reported dozens of similar shootings near aid centres since the rollout began.

GHF was launched after an 11-week Israeli blockade that halted all humanitarian access to Gaza. Under the plan, aid distribution is limited to four tightly controlled hubs in the far south, guarded by armed US contractors and operated in close coordination with the Israeli military.

The model has been widely criticised for turning food into a weapon of war by entrenching Israel’s control over Gaza’s food supply and tying humanitarian access to its military campaign, including the forced displacement of civilians from the north to enable further operations.

Aid groups have also repeatedly warned that the system would mean that the Strip’s most vulnerable people will go without emergency aid, urging for aid groups who have a long history in the enclave to continue their work there.

The United Nations, World Food Program, and most major humanitarian organisations have refused to participate in the GHF, citing its lack of neutrality and its role in what many see as the administration of siege. Internal Israeli military documents cited by The Washington Post also raised concerns about the risk of stampedes and chaos at the overcrowded aid sites.

“Aid will never be neutral under such heavy control,” said one aid professional who declined a senior role at the foundation, according to The Post.

Adding to the turmoil, GHF’s founding CEO, Jake Wood, resigned last week, saying the foundation could not operate while maintaining the core humanitarian principles of independence, impartiality, and integrity.

On Tuesday, the foundation named his replacement, Rev. Johnnie Moore – a staunchly pro-Zionist evangelical pastor and former Donald Trump appointee to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

World Food Program chief Cindy McCain has called the situation a “tragedy” and urged for an immediate ceasefire and “complete, unfettered access” to prevent further catastrophe.

Last month, UN Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher slammed the GHF as “a cynical sideshow” for a deeply flawed and dangerous attempt to rebrand the delivery of aid in Gaza while Israel continues to impose a blockade, bomb civilians, and block life-saving assistance.

More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, the majority of them women and children.